CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadcasting Programmes: Suicide

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions Ofcom had with ITV on the suitability of a suicide scene in the 20 January edition of Coronation Street which appeared before the watershed; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 24 January 2014
	I am informed by Ofcom that the regulator had no discussions with ITV in advance of the programme being broadcast. Ofcom is a post-transmission regulator and it is the responsibility of broadcasters to ensure that programmes comply with the provisions in Ofcom's broadcasting code regarding content shown pre-watershed. The code includes specific rules stating that methods of suicide and self-harm must not be included in programmes, except where they are editorially justified and are also justified by the context.

Social Networking: Young People

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure social networking sites take more responsibility for protecting young people when they are online.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 24 January 2014
	The Government takes the issue of child safety online very seriously and has engaged intensively with industry; as a result we have set out a series of measures to help parents keep children safe online. The four main ISPs have committed to giving their customers an easy way to install family friendly filters that will protect all devices in the home. These allow parents to prevent their children from accessing potentially harmful content.
	In addition, the new national curriculum will see children aged five to 16 taught about internet safety in a sensible, age-appropriate way, a really important step to help children and young people understand some of the issues.
	However, there is no silver bullet and social media sites and users also need to take responsibility. If individuals are having conversations about harming themselves, then both social media sites and other users should point them to places where they can get help.
	We have been clear that we expect social media companies to respond quickly to incidents of abusive behaviour on their networks. This includes having easy to use reporting tools, robust processes in place to respond promptly when abuse is reported and where appropriate, suspending or terminating the accounts of those who do not comply with the acceptable use policies. We will shortly be inviting a number of social media companies to come and discuss with us what more might be done to protect young people when they are online.

Television: Licensing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were fined for not holding a television licence in (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire in each of the last three years.

Shailesh Vara: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.
	The number of offenders fined for installing or using a television receiver without the appropriate licence, in the Hampshire police force area, from 2008 to 2012 (the latest available), can be viewed in the following table.
	Data cannot be separately identified at parliamentary constituency level.
	Court proceedings data for 2013 are planned for publication in May 2014.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced to a fine for installing or using a television licence without the appropriate licence1 in the Hampshire police force area, 2008-122,3 
			  Number 
			 2008 2,247 
			 2009 3,160 
			 2010 2,307 
			 2011 2,829 
			 2012 3,409 
			 1 An offence under S363 of the Communications Act 2003. 2 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 3 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice.

Television: Licensing

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions she has had to bring forward a local television licence on the freeview platform for Leicester and Leicestershire.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS officials have had discussions with Ofcom about this. Unfortunately, Ofcom is not able to advertise a local TV service licence for the Leicester area because there are no available frequencies that a local TV service could use to broadcast from that would satisfactorily serve viewers in the city-despite there being local interest.
	Ofcom published details of areas identified as suitable for local TV services in May 2012.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Violence Against Women

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps she has taken to tackle violence against women.

Theresa May: The Government has taken decisive action to tackle violence against women and girls.
	We ring-fenced £40 million of funding for specialist services. We are criminalising forced marriage and have re-launched our national “This is Abuse” prevention campaign, and on 25 November I announced the roll-out of Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Clare's Law.

Legal Highs

Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department How many temporary banning orders for the control of legal highs are in force.

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government has already banned hundreds of new psychoactive substances. There is currently one temporary class drug order in place, covering ten drugs from the NBOMe and Benzofuran groups, which came into force on 10 June 2013. The Government announced on the 12 December 2013 that these drugs will be brought under permanent control. On the same day, I asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to review the generic definitions that we use to ban families of drugs.

Online Child Abuse

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to tackle child abuse online.

Damian Green: We have made real progress in tackling child abuse online. Internet search engines have made changes to their search mechanisms, and these new measures have been effective in making it harder to access child abuse images. Britain and the US have also created a new taskforce to work with industry to counter online child sexual exploitation.

Ending Gangs Programme

Stuart Andrew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of her Department's Ending Gangs programme.

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government published a review of the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme in December. This showed that the approach has been welcomed by local areas and has made a positive difference.

Rape, Domestic Violence and Child Abuse

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on the reduction in the number of referrals from the police to the Crown Prosecution Service in cases of rape, domestic violence and child abuse.

Norman Baker: The Coalition Government is concerned at the fail in referrals. We have developed a six-point plan to improve the position. Progress will be monitored by the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group chaired by the Secretary of State for the Home Department and attended by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Asylum

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional costs her Department incurred in 2013 in the development of the COMPASS programme above those initially planned for; and what the estimated cost of the programme is over the next seven years.

Mark Harper: In 2013, the Home Department incurred an additional cost of £170,000 in the development of the COMPASS programme. This represents 0.025 % of the estimated cost of COMPASS over the seven-year contract term based on current volumes.

Asylum

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) support and (b) administration for asylum seekers in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Mark Harper: Expenditure on asylum support for the years specified is disclosed by way of a note to the annual Resource Accounts of the UK Border Agency:
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-10-11.pdf?view=Binary
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-11-12.pdf?view=Binary
	http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/aboutus/annual-reports-accounts/annual-report-12-13.pdf?view=Binary
	Copies of the accounts have also been placed in the Library of the House.
	Information on administration costs relating to asylum support is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Asylum

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on Section 95 support for asylum seekers in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Mark Harper: Expenditure on support under section 95 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 1999 was as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2010-11 155.3 
			 2011-12 130.5 
			 2012-13 128.3

Customs: Ports

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the estimated value was of goods seized by the Border Force at the ports of (a) Ayr,(b)Barrow in Furness,(c) Barry,(d)Belfast,(e)Birkenhead,(f)Bristol,(g)Burntisland,(h) Cardiff,(i)Clydeport,(j) Dundee,(k)Felixstowe,(l)Fleetwood,(m)Garston,(n)Goole,(o)Grangemouth,(p)Grimsby,(q)Hartlepool,(r)Harwich,(s)Heysham,(t)Hull,(u)Immingham,(v)Ipswich,(w)King's Lynn,(x)Leith,(y)Liverpool,(z) London,(aa)London Gateway,(bb)Lowestoft,(cc)Medway Ports,(dd)Methill,(ee)Newport,(ff)Plymouth,(gg)Port Talbot,(hh)Rosyth,(ii)Silloth,(jj) Southampton,(kk)Swansea,(ll) Tees,(mm)Teignmouth,(nn)Tilbury and(oo)Troon in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Mark Harper: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Deportation

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been subject to removal directions in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: holding answer 19 December 2013
	The following table provides information on the number of enforced removal directions set within the last three years (2011-13).
	
		
			 Enforced removal directions set within the last three years 
			  Number of people with enforced RDs 
			 2011 19,194 
			 2012 20,417 
			 2013 18,229 
			 Total 57,840 
			 Notes: 1. Data includes people with enforced removal directions set in period. 2. People with enforced RDs set that have not been removed have been counted once. 3. People who have had more than one enforced removal have been counted once per each enforced removal.

EU Law

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many EU directives her Department has transposed into UK law since 2010; and how many directly acting EU regulations have come into effect in her Department's area of responsibility in the same period.

James Brokenshire: Since 2010 the Home Office has transposed into UK law three EU directives:
	Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. This measure establishes common EU standards for criminal offences, penalties, victim support and cooperation to tackle human trafficking. The Government opted in post-adoption once we were content that measures did not conflict with our domestic arrangements, and to further reinforce the UK's position at the forefront of the fight against trafficking.
	Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purpose. This replaced a previous directive in order to strengthen the protection of animals used in scientific procedures and promote strategies to replace, reduce and refine the use of animals in scientific procedures. It provides a practical framework for the regulation of animal research and testing in Europe and sets a benchmark for the rest of the world. We believe that this directive allows us to maintain high standards of welfare and animal protection without the imposition of unnecessary bureaucracy.
	Directive 2008/51/EC amending Council Directive 91/477/EEC on control of the acquisition and possession of and possession of weapons. We have not yet transposed Article 4 since we are not required to do so until December 2014.
	The Commission brought forward the weapons directive to be amended to incorporate provisions of the UN Firearms Protocol. This took place under the previous Government.
	One directly acting Regulation has come into effect in the same period. That was Council Regulation (EC) No 380/2008 of 18 April 2008 amending Regulation (EC) No 1030/2002 laying down a uniform format for residence permits for third-country nationals. We opted in to this measure as it supports the strengthening of immigration documentation within the EU by introducing the use of biometric identifiers comprising facial image and fingerprints.

Hillsborough Stadium

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to ensure that all relevant documents will be released ahead of the inquest into the Hillsborough disaster.

Damian Green: We are satisfied that the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and Operation Resolve (Jon Stoddart's investigation) have sufficient powers at their disposal to access any relevant information which is related to the Hillsborough disaster.
	The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), has committed to ensuring that these investigations have the powers and resources necessary to carry out their important work. New powers and additional resources have been made available to the IPCC.

ICT

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are employed within centralised IT departments or teams in her Department; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The number of people employed in Home Office IT is 532.
	Within the Department, there are also a number of other staff who work on IT projects.

Illegal Immigrants

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal entrants have been detained at ports of entry to the UK through the use of sniffer dogs in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Mark Harper: This data is not held centrally.

Illegal Immigrants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many named illegal migrants are currently listed on the e-Borders database.

Mark Harper: holding answer 16 January 2014
	The Semaphore system, which is delivered by the Border Systems Programme, does not hold a list of names of illegal migrants; it checks passenger information against Home Office databases. Advance passenger information provided by carriers is processed by Semaphore to identify known persons of interest.

Immigrants: Detainees

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time is that an individual who has been defined as an age dispute case has been held in an immigration removal centre pending release to local authority care in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the (a) average and (b) maximum length of time is that an individual who has been held in an immigration removal centre pending an age assessment in the last 12 months for which figures are available;
	(3)  how many individuals have been detained in immigration removal centres for the purpose of age assessment in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many of those individuals were found to be (a) adults and (b) children.

Mark Harper: holding answer 20 January 2014
	The specific data requested in the hon. Member's first two questions is not routinely recorded.
	Home Office policy requires that individuals will be treated as adults, and detained, only in the following circumstances:
	if there is credible and clear documentary evidence that they are 18 years of age or over; or
	if a full "Merton-compliant" age assessment by a local authority is available stating that they are 18 years of age or over; or
	if their physical appearance / demeanour very strongly suggests that they are significantly over 18 years of age and no other credible evidence exists to the contrary; or
	if the individual:
	prior to detention, gave a date of birth that would make them an adult and/or stated they were an adult; and
	only claimed to be a child after a decision had been taken on their asylum claim; and
	only claimed to be a child after they had been detained; and
	has not provided credible and clear documentary evidence proving their claimed age; and
	does not have a Merton-compliant age assessment stating they are a child; and
	does not have an unchallenged court finding indicating that they are a child; and
	physical appearance / demeanour very strongly suggests that they are 18 years of age or over.
	All seven of these latter criteria must apply.
	In some circumstances one or more of these criteria will be met and the individual correctly detained as an adult only for, subsequently, new information to come to light which casts doubt on the original assessment of whether the individual is a child or an adult. In these circumstances, the individual will be released into the care of social services for a formal assessment of their age (this may be a reassessment if they were detained on the basis of a previous assessment) at the earliest opportunity and the individual will be treated as a child pending the outcome of this assessment. Delays can occur if the relevant local authority is unable to attend immediately to take custody of the individual and if the decision is taken that it is in the best interests of the individual, from a safeguarding perspective, for them to stay in the immigration removal centre until social services are able to attend.

Immigration Controls: Aviation

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many private international flights which arrived at public airports in (a) Scotland, (b) Northern Ireland and (c) Wales in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13 were (A) checked and (B) not checked by immigration officials.

Mark Harper: The requested data is only available for 2012-13.
	In that period, Border Force officials risk assessed 100% of notified flights, including:
	2,161 international flights arriving at public airports in Scotland
	243 international flights arriving at public airports in Northern Ireland
	218 international flights arriving at public airports in Wales

Immigration Controls: Ports

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many illegal immigrants were intercepted at the ports of (a) Ayr, (b) Barrow in Furness, (c) Barry, (d) Belfast, (e) Birkenhead, (f) Bristol, (g) Burntisland, (h) Cardiff, (i) Clydeport, (j) Dundee, (k) Felixstowe, (l) Fleetwood, (m) Garston, (n) Goole, (o) Grangemouth, (p) Grimsby, (q) Hartlepool, (r) Harwich, (s) Heysham, (t) Hull, (u) Immingham, (v) Ipswich, (w) King's Lynn, (x) Leith, (y) Liverpool, (z) London, (aa) London Gateway, (bb) Lowestoft, (cc) Medway Ports, (dd) Methill, (ee) Newport, (ff) Plymouth, (gg) Port Talbot, (hh) Rosyth, (ii) Silloth, (jj) Southampton, (kk) Swansea, (ll) Tees, (mm) Teignmouth, (nn) Tilbury and (oo) Troon in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13.

Mark Harper: To ensure the integrity and security of the UK border Her Majesty's Government cannot comment on port specific statistics.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of citizens of other EU member states who entered the UK in 2013.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the number of citizens of other EU member states who entered the UK in 2013 [184511].
	ONS produces estimates of Long-Term International Migration (LTIM), primarily based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS). The IPS is a continuous voluntary sample survey conducted by ONS. These estimates are based on the United Nations definition of a long-term international migrant, that is, someone who changes their country of usual residence for a period of at least one year.
	LTIM estimates are published on a rolling quarterly basis and the latest available figures are for the year ending June 2013. The estimate of the number of EU citizens who entered the UK during this period was 183,000, with a corresponding margin of error of +/-21,000.
	The margin of error refers to the 95 per cent confidence interval and is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.
	LTIM estimates for calendar year 2013 will become available on 22 May 2014.
	ONS also produces estimates of Travel and Tourism, based on the IPS, which include estimates of the number of EU citizens entering the UK for periods of less than one year. The latest available estimates are for November 2013 and can be found on the ONS website:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/ott/overseas-travel-and-tourism---monthly-release/november-2013/rft--november-2013.xls

Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police helicopter pilots have been relieved from duty after a laser pen attack in the last three years.

Damian Green: This information is not collected by the Home Office.

Mark Duggan

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who ordered the vehicle in which Mark Duggan had been travelling to be removed from the crime scene without forensic examination.

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC ) is continuing its investigation. While that is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further on the case. I understand the IPCC will write to the hon. Member and I will ensure a copy of the letter is placed in the House Library.

Mark Duggan

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will order an inquiry into the police handling of the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan;
	(2)  what steps she has taken to identify and discipline (a) Metropolitan Police officers and (b) members of the Independent Police Complaints Commission who claimed after his death that Mark Duggan had exchanged gunfire with officers.

Damian Green: The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating this case. While this process is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further on the case.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 2 December 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr Muhammad Asif.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 21 January 2014.

Police: Body Searches

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ethnicity of detainees strip searched by (a) the Metropolitan Police Service and (b) other police forces was in (i) 2011, (ii) 2012 and (iii) 2013.

Damian Green: This information is not held centrally, and to obtain the information would incur disproportionate costs.

Police: Finance

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total Home Office direct funding was for the police in each of the last four years; and what the projected funding is for 2014-15.

Damian Green: The aggregate amount of grant funding the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), provided to the police was £4.7 billion in 2010-11, £4.8 billion in 2011-12, £4.4 billion in 2012-13 and £7.8 billion in 2013-14.
	The amount in 2013-14 includes £3.1 billion formula grant funding which in previous years had been paid to the police by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but from 2013-14 onwards is being paid by the Home Office.
	The Provisional Police Grant Report 2014/15 was laid in the House on 18 December. The aggregate amount of funding the Home Secretary will pay to the police in 2014-15 will be £8.0 billion. This comprises £4.6 billion in Home Office police core settlement and £2.9 billion in formula funding, which in previous years has been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government. It also includes £0.5 billion in legacy council tax freeze grants, which in previous years had been paid by the Department for Communities and Local Government, but from 2014-15 onwards is being paid by the Home Office. The Final Police Grant Report will be laid in the House in early February.

Police: Finance

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change has been in central grant funding to each police force in England and Wales has changed between 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Damian Green: Core central Government funding provided to every local policing body (defined as police and crime commissioners, the Mayor's Office of Policing and Crime, and the Common Council of the City of London) reduced by 1.6% between 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of expenditure on her Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: The Home Department's direct and indirect spend with SMEs from 2009-10 to 20012-13 has been reported on GOV.UK:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/buying-and-managing-government-goods-and-services-more-efficiently-and-effectively/supporting-pages/making-sure-government-gets-full-value-from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises
	We do not hold this information on a regional basis or broken down between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Telecommunications: Databases

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government stores telephone communications data on British citizens against whom no evidence of criminal activity is held.

James Brokenshire: Public authorities granted powers to acquire either the content of communications under an interception warrant, or communications data may retain these data once acquired, under relevant stringent safeguards.
	Telephone communications data are held by the relevant communications service providers for their business purposes and where required under data retention legislation. The police and other public authorities approved by Parliament can only acquire those data where necessary and proportionate to do so.
	A small number of public authorities (such as the intelligence agencies and National Crime Agency) may also seek interception warrants under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which may authorise the collection of related communications data.
	Communications data acquired by public authorities are subject to stringent safeguards in accordance with RIPA and the Data Protection Act. Independent oversight is provided by one or more of the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, and the Information Commissioner who check the acquisition, storage and use of such data is lawful.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Fracking

Anne McIntosh: To ask the right hon. Member for Banbury, representing the Church Commissioners, whether any applications for licences for fracking been made on land owned by the Church of England.

Tony Baldry: The Church Commissioners believe that the Government has awarded a number of Petroleum Exploration and Development Licences (PEDL) which cover wide geographical areas and these include some interests held by the Commissioners. To date no approaches have been made to the Commissioners and no applications have been received from any potential Licensors.

JUSTICE

Driving Offences

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make it his policy that victim of crime statistics should include data on those killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law.

Nick Hurd: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Cabinet Office.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking if the Secretary of State for Justice will make it his policy that victim of crime statistics should include data on those killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law (184401).
	Victims killed as a result of the actions of vehicle drivers who are breaking the law should already be covered by the main recorded crime collection. The Police Recorded Crime statistics include the following offences: causing death by dangerous driving; causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs; causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving; causing death by aggravated vehicle taking; and causing death by driving: unlicensed or disqualified or uninsured drivers. This covers all Road Traffic Act offences which result in the death of a victim.
	The latest statistics, published by ONS on 23 January, on the above offences can be found within Table A4 within the link below. An extract of this table is included below for reference:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/period-ending-september-2013/rft-appendix-tables.xls
	
		
			 Police recorded crime by road traffic act offence resulting in the death of the victim, extract from table A4 year ending September 2013 (Police recorded crime data are not designated as National Statistics) 
			   12 months to September 2012 12 months to September 2013 % change between years 
			 4.4 Causing death by dangerous driving 164 226 38 
			 4.6 Causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drink or drugs 16 21 1— 
			 4.8 Causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving 161 138 -14 
			 37.1 Causing death by aggravated vehicle taking 2 10 1— 
		
	
	
		
			 4.9 Causing death by driving: unlicensed or disqualified or uninsured drivers 12 7 1— 
			 1 Indicates that data are not reported because the base number of offences is less than 50. Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office. 
		
	
	However, there may be a small number of homicides that are the result of the offender driving unlawfully which will be recorded as homicides rather than under the above offences. This is because Road Traffic Act offences only apply on the public road or in public areas. Therefore, if an individual is killed by someone driving a car dangerously on private land it will be recorded as a homicide.
	While the recent de-designation of police recorded crime has led to concerns about the accuracy and reliability of statistics based on police recorded crime, these offences are not ones that are likely to be under or mis-recorded.

Magistrates’ Courts

Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to section 8.2 of his Department's research paper, The strength and skills of the Judiciary in the Magistrates' Courts, Ministry of Justice Research Series 9/11, dated November 2011, for what reasons a volunteer cost of £10 per magistrate per hour is include within the costs directly associated with magistrates; and which other studies follow this approach.

Shailesh Vara: This research paper was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and was produced by Ipsos MORI. Their report explains that a ‘volunteer cost’ represents the economic value of a volunteer's unpaid time, in particular how much the volunteer might be paid if they were not volunteering. Ipsos MORI reflected the approach taken in Gaskin, K and Dobson, B (1997) 'The economic equation of volunteering' available at:
	http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/economic-equation-volunteering
	The Government is currently looking at the role of magistrates, to ensure that they remain the cornerstone of our justice system. We conducted an engagement exercise with magistrates earlier this year, to ensure their views were at the core of this work.

Magistrates’ Courts: Prestatyn

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 399W, on magistrates' courts: Prestatyn, if any planned improvement works to Prestatyn magistrates' courts have been cancelled in the last four years.

Shailesh Vara: No planned improvement work has been cancelled in the last four years. HMCTS continues to keep its estate under review to ensure it meets operational requirements.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service from appellants in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England regarding (i) disability living allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) income support, (iv) jobseeker's allowance and (v) tax credits were successful in (A) each quarter in 2013 and (B) the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average length of time was for the Tribunals Service to administer a First-tier Tribunal-Social Security and Child Support appeal in respect of employment and support allowance in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in (i) each quarter in 2013 and (ii) the latest period for which figures are available.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal–Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.
	Table 1 shows the proportion of appeals which were decided in favour of the appellant in (a) Coventry (b) the West Midlands and (c) England and Wales regarding (i) disability living allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance (ESA), (iii) income support, (iv) jobseeker’s allowance, and (v) tax credits in the first three quarters of 2013, the latest period for which figures are available.
	Table 2 shows the average length of time to administer appeals in respect of ESA in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England and Wales in the first three quarters of 2013, the latest period for which figures are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Percentage of appeals decided in favour of the appellant in the first three quarters of 2013 
			   2013 
			  Appeal type January to March April to June July to September 
			 Coventry DLA 49 44 45 
			  ESA 45 48 40 
			  IS 38 36 15 
			  JSA 26 29 21 
			  Tax credit 50 22 29 
			      
			 West Midlands DLA 37 37 36 
			  ESA 42 39 39 
			  IS 33 29 36 
			  JSA 23 22 20 
			  Tax credit 0 0 17 
			      
			 England and Wales DLA 41 40 40 
			  ESA 42 41 43 
			  IS 27 24 27 
			  JSA 21 19 18 
		
	
	
		
			  Tax credit 25 20 17 
			 Note: The very small number of tax credit appeals at Coventry venues means that the percentage appears as 0 in some instances. Similarly, due to the small number of appeals, a single case can make a significant difference to the percentages. 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Average length of time to administer ESA appeals in the first three quarters of 2013 
			 weeks 
			  2013 
			  January to March April to June July to September 
			 Coventry 30.8 28.3 28.5 
			 West Midlands1 24.9 24.8 27 
			 England and Wales 18.8 19.1 21.5 
			 1 West Midlands includes appeals heard at Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stoke, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester venues. Note: The above data are taken from management information in line with published statistics. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale reporting system and is the best data available. 
		
	
	The increase in waiting times for appeals reflects the significant increase in ESA appeals received by the tribunal. To meet this increased demand, HMCTS has increased the capacity of the tribunal; for example, from June 2013 the number of hearing rooms in Coventry has doubled.

Training

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which Ministers in his Department have undertaken training courses; and in the case of each such course what the (a) name of the course provider was, (b) purpose of the course was and (c) cost of each session in the course was.

Shailesh Vara: I can confirm that neither I nor any of the other Ministers have attended any training courses in the time we have been in this Department.

Victim Support Schemes

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much is currently spent on victim support from all sources in each police force area in England and Wales.

Damian Green: Under the current model by which the Ministry of Justice provides funding for victims' services, funding is not directly or specifically given to, or allocated by police force area.
	The majority of Ministry of Justice funding for provision of victims and witness services since 2009-10 has been provided via a grant to Victim Support (£38.25 million in 2013-14). Under this model, support for victims in local areas is provided based on numbers of police and self referrals received, and the number and types of positive needs identified with victims on an individual basis. This grant also funds provision of the national Homicide Service, and the court based witness service.
	In addition, the Ministry of Justice provides funding for a number of other organisations which support victims across different localities. This funding has been allocated to organisations based on identified needs rather than allocations by police force area.

Written Questions

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the role of special advisers is in the process of sign-off of answers to parliamentary questions in his Department.

Jeremy Wright: Answers to parliamentary questions are signed off by senior civil servants and the relevant Minister. Special advisers are employed to provide additional advice and assistance to Ministers across a wide range of areas.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what meetings his Department has had with the National Union of Students on increasing electoral registration rates for students.

Greg Clark: The Government is committed to ensuring students are able to exercise their democratic rights and has established a student forum to promote and support the work of electoral registration officers in student registration.
	The National Union of Students is a member of the forum and regularly attends national and regional meetings between electoral staff and universities to agree best practice to increase student electoral registration.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of levels of co-operation between (a) the Student Loans Company, (b) local authority student council tax exemption departments and (c) the national insurance card department in automatically sending out voter registration forms to all their clients.

Greg Clark: The Government works with a range of organisations to help both safeguard and improve the completeness and accuracy of the register. The Student Loans Company was involved in the Government's data matching pilots in 2011 and 2013. The results are publically available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60723/FINAL-Data-Matching-Evaluation-Report-new.pdf
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223850/Data_Mining_Evaluation_ FULL_Report_FINAL.pdf
	National insurance numbers are normally allocated at the age of 15 years and nine months, which is over two years before voting age.
	Local authorities can inspect their own council tax records to find eligible electors and are strongly encouraged to do so.

Electoral Register

Chris Ruane: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what proportion of attainers in (a) Great Britain and (b) each region of Great Britain were registered to vote in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what proportion of (a) young people aged 18 to 25 years old and (b) pensioners were registered to vote in each of the last 20 years;
	(3)  if he will estimate the proportion of UK citizens who were in receipt of benefits who were registered to vote in each of the last 10 years.

Greg Clark: This information is not held centrally.

TRANSPORT

Bus Services: Finance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the ability of district councils to subsidise bus services in their district through the relevant county council.

Stephen Hammond: District councils have powers under the Transport Act 1985 that may be used to secure local bus services where they would not otherwise be provided.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff and managers have left the Maritime and Coastguard Agency headquarters since 2013; and how many such staff are planning to leave by 2015.

Stephen Hammond: 38 staff, of which 26 are of management grade, have left the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) headquarters since the start of 2013.
	The MCA do not know how many staff are planning to leave before 2015, as the maximum period of notice that has to be given is three months.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff, of what grade, of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are expected to be at retirement age by 2015.

Stephen Hammond: There is no fixed retirement age. However the number of staff at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency that will reach the age of 65 before 2015 is shown below by grade:
	
		
			 Pay grade Number 
			 1 6 
			 2 9 
			 3 6 
			 4 7 
			 5 16 
			 6 1<5 
			 7 1<5 
			 SCS 1<5 
			 1 Totals below 5 have been shown as <5 to avoid individuals being identified.

Railway Stations: North West

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to upgrade railway stations on the South Fylde line.

Stephen Hammond: The Department's Community Rail Development Strategy supports the rail industry and local community partnerships in improving services and stations on local branch lines.
	The South Fylde line is supported by the South Fylde Line Community Rail Partnership. Working with the rail industry and the local community they have helped develop a programme of improvements for stations along this route. Examples include artwork, branded boards and raised flower beds. There are plans to enhance the station environment at Blackpool South.
	This route has also benefited from the Department's National Stations Improvement Programme (NSIP), which has provided a waiting shelter, a subway upgrade and platform upgrades.

Railways: Floods

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to give final approval to the flood resilience plan for the West of England and Great Western lines.

Stephen Hammond: It is not for the Secretary of State to give approval for a Network Rail plan. This is an operational matter for the company, in which Ministers currently have no powers to intervene. Although Network Rail will be reclassified into the public sector from September 2014, our objective is to ensure that their operational independence is safeguarded.
	However officials from the Department are liaising with Network Rail to ensure a multi-agency approach is adopted in this matter.

Taxis

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects (a) his Department's informal targeted consultation on taxis and private hire vehicles to be complete and (b) a draft bill on this matter to be published.

Stephen Hammond: Against the background of the Red Tape Challenge, the Department is considering the case for making some isolated changes to taxi and private hire vehicle legislation, ahead of the wider reforms being proposed by the Law Commission. As part of the consideration process we asked a small number of expert groups for their views. If we decide to take forward any of the proposals we will make an announcement.

Transport: Finance

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what publicly-funded transport projects to be delivered by (a) the Government, (b) local authorities and (c) business groups are being discussed with Chinese companies or organisations; and what the estimated value of such projects is.

Stephen Hammond: The Department holds no central record of any such discussions.

West Coast Railway Line

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps are being taken to limit disruption for rail passengers on the West Coast mainline during periods of extreme weather.

Stephen Hammond: Train operators have a duty as part of their franchise agreements to deal with disruption and to work with Network Rail and neighbouring train companies to ensure services are adjusted to cover for all types of eventuality.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department has any plans to consult on banning or restricting the use of animal snares.

George Eustice: This Government is genuinely concerned about animal welfare and my noble Friend, Lord de Mauley, recently met interested parties from both sides of the debate. He has invited them to work with DEFRA to ensure compliance with the DEFRA Code of Practice on the Use of Snares is improved and to drive up welfare standards. However, we currently have no plans to consult on banning or restricting the use of animal snares.

Coastal Areas: Flood Control

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the National Farmers' Union about measures to improve coastal defences.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA Ministers and officials hold regular discussions with the National Farmers' Union (NFU); recognising the role of the NFU as an industry association representing the interest of farmers affected by past and current flooding, caused by coastal inundation of normally dry, low-lying coastal land.
	Responsibilities for managing flood and coastal erosion risk on the coast are shared between local authorities and the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency is gathering and assessing evidence provided by other asset owners, including local authorities, to establish the impact of recent storms on coastal defences; prioritising the use of resources to minimise the threat or risk of further inundation where possible.
	DEFRA is on course to invest more than £2.3 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management over the current four-year spending period, which runs from April 2011 to March 2015.
	Going forward, DEFRA is committed to investing £370 million capital in 2015-16 and then the same in real terms each year, rising to over£400 million in 2020-21. We will also be providing an above-inflation increase of £5 million for the Environment Agency's floods maintenance work in 2015-16.
	I will be reporting to Parliament on floods funding in due course.

Floods

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if the Government will takes steps to protect Sites of Specific Scientific Interest and other wildlife sites from flooding.

Dan Rogerson: holding answer 23 January 2014
	Natural England and the Environment Agency will work together with local communities to decide the appropriate management of important wildlife sites where flooding is a potential issue. There is a programme of flood risk management work in place for our most important wildlife sites and this will be updated following the recent storm events. It is important to remember that many wildlife sites depend on periodic flooding to maintain their ecological interest, including some coastal sites. Most habitats and species are resilient to periodic inundation (including saline inundations) and will recover naturally.

Floods: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on flood defences in Brigg and Goole constituency in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10, (d) 2010-11, (e) 2011-12 and (f) 2012-13; and how much has been allocated by his Department for flood defences in Brigg and Goole constituency in (i) 2013-14, (ii) 2014-15 and (iii) 2015-16.

Dan Rogerson: The total DEFRA grant in aid spent or allocated on flood risk management in the Brigg and Goole constituency between 2007-08 and 2015-16 is as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2007-08 3,797,000 
			 2008-09 4,716,000 
			 2009-10 9,769,000 
			 2010-11 5,202,000 
			 2011-12 2,140,000 
			 2012-13 2,163,000 
			 2013-14 13,020,000 
			 2014-15 27,176,000 
			 2015-16 21,468,000 
			 Total 39,451,000 
			 1 Allocation 2 Indicative allocation 
		
	
	Each yearly figure includes both Environment Agency revenue spending (annual and intermittent maintenance) and DEFRA capital flood defence grant in aid spent by the Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards. Other funding streams, such as local levy, are not included.

Floods: Lytham St Annes

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funds his Department made available to protect homes, businesses and agricultural land to the east of Lytham St Annes from flooding.

Dan Rogerson: A £400,000 Environment Agency project to replace the penstock valves and other equipment at Dock Bridge pumping station was carried out in 2013. This project will help improve the transfer of water from Main Drain to the Ribble Estuary in the area east of Lytham, providing benefits to properties and agricultural land. In winter 2012, Birks Watercourse and Main Drain to the east of Lytham were de-silted by the Environment Agency at a cost of £110,000. Further de-silting along a stretch of Liggard Brook in Lytham, costing £25,000, will be taking place prior to April 2014. This will help improve channel capacity and divert water away from properties in the town of Lytham.

Floods: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on flood defences in the area covered by the River Don Catchment Flood Management Plan in each of the last five years.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA flood and coastal erosion risk management grant in aid expenditure within the Don Catchment Flood Management Plan area in the last five years was as follow:
	
		
			 £000 
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Five-year total 
			 FCRM Capital GiA 4,641 3,388 660 2,250 1,712 12,651 
			 Revenue GiA 1,300 1,837 1,208 2,282 2,041 8,668 
			 Total 5,941 5,225 1,868 4,532 3,753 21,319

Genetically Modified Organisms: Rice

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what estimate he made of the total cost of the development of golden rice between 2000 and 2014;
	(2)  what (a) animal feeding and (b) toxicology trials have been undertaken on golden rice according to Codex Alimentarious guidelines;
	(3)  what human feeding trials there have been relating to golden rice; and what information has been obtained from those trials relating to the safety of that form of rice for long-term consumption;
	(4)  what assessment his Department has made of whether the genetically modified variety referred to as Golden Rice 3 is safe for human consumption;
	(5)  if he will make a comparative assessment of the merits of (a) golden rice and (b) green leafy vegetables in the diets of people with vitamin deficiency;
	(6)  what information he holds relating to the persistence and availability of beta-carotene in golden rice which has been harvested, stored and cooked in normal domestic situations;
	(7)  what information he holds concerning the uniformity, stability, yields and beta-carotene levels of the latest Indica varieties of golden rice.

Dan Rogerson: The Government is not directly responsible for the development of Golden Rice or its potential cultivation by farmers in rice-producing countries. We therefore do not hold information on Golden Rice beyond that which is already publicly available, and it would not be for DEFRA to undertake a detailed assessment of its safety, efficacy or development costs. Information on the Golden Rice project is provided on the website of the International Rice Research Institute:
	http://irri.org/
	If in future an application is made for EU approval of Golden Rice as a GM food product, it would be subject to a safety assessment carried out by the independent European Food Safety Authority.

EDUCATION

Apprentices: Yorkshire and the Humber

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships created in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber since 2008.

Matthew Hancock: holding answer 23 January 2014
	I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a supplementary table to a statistical first release, available at:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6D9AE2BF-CDB4-44C9-AB55-0EACF719BBBE/0/Nov2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/

Autism

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of progress made by his Department in implementing the Adult Autism Strategy.

Edward Timpson: The Department of Education is a member of the Autism Programme Board and works closely with the Department of Health in implementing the 2010 Adult Autism Strategy, with a particular focus on the transition from children's to adult services. The Department is engaged with the current work to refresh the strategy.
	To support transition, the Children and Families Bill, will create a single 0-25 system for children with special educational needs (SEN) in school and young people with learning difficulties and disabilities in further education. This will ensure better managed and co-ordinated support for children and young people with SEN to make a successful transition to adulthood, including those with autism who can find this transition particularly difficult.

Children: Day Care

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many registered childcare places there were in (a) Ashfield constituency and (b) Nottinghamshire in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012 and (v) 2013.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education's Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey collects data on all registered child care places at a national and regional level. However, information is not provided at a lower geographical level.
	The following table provides data for 2009, 2010 and 2011. Data are not available for 2012. Data from the 2013 survey will be published in September 2014.
	
		
			 Number of registered childcare places in the East Midlands 
			  2009 20101 2011 
			 Full day care 50,700 60,300 56,900 
			 Sessional 28,200 24,800 23,200 
			 After school clubs 18,000 31,400 31,600 
			 Holiday clubs 17,400 31,800 34,500 
			 Childminders 24,500 22,100 20,900 
			 Nursery schools 1,900 2,000 1,800 
			 Primary schools with nursery and reception classes 30,400 29,200 32,300 
			 Total overall 171,000 201,600 201,400 
			 1 A new sampling approach was adopted in the 2010 survey due to changes in the way Ofsted classified child care providers; this may have impacted on trends between 2010 and previous years. Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Totals may differ from the sum of their components due to rounding.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) private, (b) voluntary and (c) independent childcare providers are currently providing childcare in school settings.

Elizabeth Truss: Information on how many private, voluntary and independent child care providers are currently providing child care in school settings is not held centrally.
	The Department’s child care and early years providers survey does not collect information on whether a provider is based in a school setting or not.

Diabetes: Health Education

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to (a) raise awareness of diabetes in schools and (b) ensure that every school incorporates diabetes into its structured health education programme.

Elizabeth Truss: Schools may cover diabetes as part of personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). We encourage schools to teach PSHE, and the PSHE Association has published draft programmes of study which schools can use if they wish. The association also offers links to specialist resources, including health education material for young people. These resources include information about diabetes.
	School nurses also provide support to children with health needs including diabetes, including training and support to schools.

Further Education: Finance

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students over 18 years old in each region attending further education colleges received funding from the Education Funding Agency in the most recent academic year.

Matthew Hancock: The numbers of students aged 18 plus years old by region attending further education colleges who received funding from the Education Funding Agency (EFA) in the most recent academic year are as follows:
	
		
			 Funded by the EFA in 2012-13 
			 Region Number of 18+ year olds 
			 East Midlands 12,000 
			 East of England 16,100 
			 London 23,500 
			 North East 9,900 
			 North West 21,900 
			 South East 23,100 
			 South West 15,200 
			 West Midlands 17,800 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 15,600 
		
	
	Data are based on the 2012-13 R14 Individualised Learner Record return, the latest available full year of data. A student's region is based on the postcode of the provider they attend, not the student's home postcode. Further education colleges include general FE, tertiary and sixth-form colleges. This will not include any students on apprenticeship provision. The results in this analysis are not the same as the recently published information on the impact on 18-year-olds of funding policy changes which are limited to those 18-year-olds without high needs who are studying on a full-time basis.

Further Education: Finance

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in funding for 18 year olds in full-time education on the viability of further education courses and colleges.

Matthew Hancock: The average loss in funding per student for those institutions affected by this decision is just 2%. We do not expect this change to affect significantly the financial viability of colleges. We monitor the financial health of colleges on a regular basis.

Pre-school Education

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2014, Official Report, columns 375-78W, on pre-school education, how those 49 schools were chosen; from which strand of his Department's budget this support was funded; how many of those schools provide 8am-6pm child care; how those schools will share their learning and encourage more schools to provide places for two year olds; for how long he plans the project to run; whether he has set a date for an evaluation of the project; and how many of those schools (a) provide day care directly and (b) tender provision of day care to private, voluntary or independent providers.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department for Education established the two-year-old in schools demonstration project to generate practical learning about provision for two-year-olds in schools by working with schools that were already taking or planning to take two-year-olds. Schools participating in the project are expected to actively participate in the project evaluation and provide peer support.
	All schools chosen already take or were planning to take two-year-olds. Recruitment was carried out through a variety of methods. A number of schools with “good” or “outstanding” Ofsted ratings, who had expressed an interest in working with two-year-olds, were invited to take part. In addition, recruitment during the late spring and summer of 2013 was carried out through local authority early years leads. Invitations were also issued to a number of schools with well-established two-year-old provision, identified by the Department's strategic partner 4Children and Achieving Two Year Olds, the Department's national support programme for local authorities and providers.
	The grant paid to schools for participating in the two-year-old demonstration project was drawn from the budget available to support the programme of early learning for two-year-olds.
	One of the criteria for participating in this project was that schools should engage in peer learning throughout the project, to share emerging good practice with other schools and contribute to national awareness and understanding. Schools know best how to engage in their local networks and the Department will not prescribe how schools do this.
	Final dissemination of all written outputs are expected to be sent to participating schools by October 2014. The National Children's Bureau, together with Frontier Economics, is leading the evaluation of the project. Products from the evaluation will be published on the TES Connect website as they become available. We will encourage schools to continue their peer learning activity beyond the end of the project.
	A snapshot of participating schools taken at an earlier stage of the project, November 2013, indicated that 38 schools provided care as an integrated part of the school and 11 provided care through an on-site children's centre, a private, voluntary or independent provider, or some combination thereof.

Private Education: Offences Against Children

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether measures currently in place are sufficient to prevent the sexual abuse of children in independent schools;
	(2)  what plans he has for additional measures to protect children from sexual abuse in independent schools.

Edward Timpson: The current system is designed to minimise the likelihood of abuse taking place in independent schools. Such schools are obliged under the Independent School Standards to follow statutory guidance such as ‘Safeguarding Children and safer Recruitment in Education’ and guidance that relates to the way in which allegations of abuse are handled. There are also detailed requirements on vetting checks for staff prior to recruitment. In addition, the inspection and regulatory system is designed to ensure that schools do follow the guidance; if a school is inspected and failures against the standards are found there is a process designed to bring it up to standard or be closed. We believe that in most cases these work well.
	However, we want to continue to improve the system and are currently planning to do so in a number of ways. We intend to strengthen the independent school standards themselves, including introducing a new a leadership and governance standard which will ensure that governors and managers have proper oversight of safeguarding, and take very seriously matters such as referrals of staff to the relevant bodies where abuse takes place. We also intend to bring into operation existing legislative provision which enable a school to be closed immediately in an emergency situation.

Private Education: Offences Against Children

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many independent schools have reported to his Department in each of the last five years that a member of their staff has been convicted of a sexual offence.

Edward Timpson: The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has received referrals from four independent schools, relating to convictions for sexual offences, since it commenced its regulatory role on 1 April 2012.
	Under the previous Government, there was no requirement for teachers at independent schools to be registered. Under our new NCTL regulatory system, teachers in independent schools must be registered and are therefore regulated by the NCTL.

Private Education: Offences Against Children

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether any of the 20 independent schools which have compensation claims lodged against them from adults found to have been abused there as children were given a pass inspection on their protection of children at the time.

Edward Timpson: A number of independent schools have recently been mentioned in the media as facing potential claims. For many of these schools, the claims are historic and the Department is unlikely to hold records of the inspection judgments which were contemporaneous with the cases in question. If the hon. Member wishes to have information about the records that we hold for particular named schools, and can let the Department have the details of the schools he is interested in, I should be happy to write to him with information that we have available.

School Leaving

Graham Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local authorities have been unable to provide sufficient school placements to meet increased demand under Raising the Participation Age to those students who left year 11 in 2013.

David Laws: Local authorities are required to inform the Department by the end of October how many young people had not received an offer by the end of September; this may have been because they were undecided about what to do next, were awaiting the result of an application, or were not able to find a suitable place. The Department plans to make information on the proportion of young people who did not receive an offer available on its website once it has completed quality assurance checks on the data.

Special Educational Needs

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the availability in schools of training materials to support teachers to identify children with dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Edward Timpson: Schools are responsible for training their staff and ensuring they are able to meet pupils' special educational needs (SEN).
	Our reforms to the SEN system will challenge schools to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all pupils. In support of the reforms, the Department is supporting Nasen, a leading SEN organisation working with schools, to develop an “SEN Gateway” to ensure training materials and information on SEN is freely available. This will include teacher training materials on dyslexia developed as part of the Government-funded Inclusion Development and the “interventions for literacy” site developed by Dyslexia-SpLD Trust, which gives teachers access to well-evidenced programmes to support literacy.
	Through the National Scholarship Fund, we are enabling teachers to develop their practice by providing opportunities to apply for funding to undertake postgraduate qualifications and training in supporting children with SEN and disabilities, including specific impairments such as dyslexia.

University Technical Colleges

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many university technical colleges have opened in England to date; and how many such institutions are planned to open in the next five years.

Edward Timpson: 17 university technical colleges (UTCs) have opened in England to date. A further 33 UTCs are in development and planning to open between now and 2016. The Department for Education runs two application rounds a year for any group wanting to open a UTC. The next application round closes on 9 May.

Work Experience

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many people aged (a) 16 and under and (b) over 16 years old undertook work experience in his Department in each of the last three years.

Matthew Hancock: Since 2010, 107 people have undertaken work experience in the Department.
	The Department does not hold a central record identifying the exact age of each student undertaking a work experience placement.
	In addition, the Department has recruited 44 apprentices across the three financial years 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. This is compared to 19 apprentices in 2009-10.
	In 2013-14, the Department also took 15 apprentices from the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme Pilot. This pilot has now been rolled out and the Department will be taking a further 15 apprentices in September this year.
	Since 2011, the Department has taken on 19 paid interns as part of the Cabinet Office Summer Diversity Internship programme and the Whitehall Internship Programme and three unpaid expenses-only interns as part of a pilot for the Cabinet Office's new Social Mobility Internship.

TREASURY

Bitcoin

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had on the use and classification of the Bitcoin digital currency.

Sajid Javid: Bitcoin can be used both as a medium of exchange and as a speculative investment. It is currently legal to acquire, hold and trade Bitcoins in the UK, provided this is for legitimate purposes.
	Bitcoin is not legal tender. Only pound sterling coins and banknotes issued under the relevant UK legal regime (England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) are legal tender. Bitcoin is currently unregulated in the UK.

Bitcoin

Karl McCartney: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on digital currencies.

Sajid Javid: The Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), has had no recent discussions with EU counterparts on the subject of digital currencies.

Employee Ownership

Shabana Mahmood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are currently registered as having employee shareholder status.

David Gauke: There is no requirement for someone using the employee shareholder status to register with any Government Department or agency.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department has taken to trace Equitable Life policyholders regarding compensation under the Equitable Life payments scheme.

Sajid Javid: The Government uses a variety of approaches to trace over 1 million eligible Equitable Life policyholders, including:
	Electronic verification of records against credit records, the electoral register and the phone book;
	Writing to the last known address of policyholders;
	Using data held by the Prudential and, for members of company pension schemes, data held by the Trustees of those schemes;
	Checking records with the Department of Work and Pensions;
	Advertising in national newspapers; and
	Using data held by the Probate Office to trace the estates of deceased policyholders.
	As a result, over 700,000 policyholders have been traced and paid so far. The Government will continue to trace policyholders for the lifetime of the Scheme, and has recently extended the deadline of the Scheme until 2015 to maximise the number of policyholders that can be traced and paid.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what recent consultation his Department has undertaken with representatives of the Scotch whisky industry regarding alcohol duty;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent changes in alcohol duty on the (a) Scotch whisky industry and (b) international competitiveness of that industry.

Nicky Morgan: The Scotch whisky industry and its international competitiveness is unaffected by the recent changes to the UK duty system as over 90% of Scotch whisky is exported. However, the Government has provided support to the Scotch whisky industry by recently launching the Scotch whisky verification scheme. This will help protect the industry's highly deserved reputation.
	HM Treasury engages with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with the previous Administration, it is not the Government's policy to disclose the details of these meetings.

Government Departments: Assets

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Government assets have been sold in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and what the value of each such sale was.

Danny Alexander: HM Treasury does not routinely collect information on all individual asset sales. UK Government Departments with non-devolved functions covering Northern Ireland will be able to provide more detail on the management of their own assets. The Northern Ireland Executive should be able to provide more information for assets for which they are responsible.

Minimum Wage

Guy Opperman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the level of the national minimum wage.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Our aim is to maximise the wages of the low-paid without damaging their employment prospects. We fully support the work of an independent Low Pay Commission (LPC) in framing the pay rate recommendations for 2014, and the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), has also asked them to consider the conditions needed for faster, above inflation, increases in the national minimum wage (NMW).
	On 15 January 2014 Government submitted its final evidence to the LPC including analysis of the latest economic data relevant to the remit which we issued to it in June 2013, and also submitted evidence for the additional assessment which sets out the conditions needed for faster increases in the NMW. The LPC will send its recommendations to Government for 2014 NMW rates by the end of February 2014 and we will announce the Government's decision on the rates shortly after that.
	The final Government evidence for the LPC's 2014 report and Government evidence on the additional assessment can be found at the following links:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-final-government-evidence-for-the-low-pay-commission-2014-report
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-minimum-wage-government-evidence-for-the-low-pay-commission-additional-assessment

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many Help to Buy mortgage guarantee applications have been made in each region of the UK to date.

Sajid Javid: The Government is committed to making the aspiration of home ownership a reality for as many households as possible. The Government wants current and future generations to experience the benefits of owning their own home, in the same way their parents were able to. Since the financial crisis, larger deposit requirements and falling equity values mean many credit-worthy households cannot get a mortgage, or are trapped in their existing homes unable to take the next steps.
	Almost three months since the launch of the scheme, over 6,000 people have applied for new mortgages supported by the scheme, totalling close to £1 billion of new mortgage lending. The average household applying for the scheme has asked to borrow around £151,000 for houses worth roughly £159,000, which is below the UK average house price of £247,000. Further information about the take-up of the scheme in the first three months is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-sees-1-billion-of-new-loans-and-supports-6000-applicants-in-3-months
	The Government has not been routinely collecting application data on a regional basis. However, the Government will be collecting data on mortgages covered by the guarantee as they enter the scheme, and will report on this in due course.

National Insurance Contributions: Barrow in Furness

John Woodcock: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many firms in Barrow and Furness constituency were subject to the national insurance holiday for new firms in each year it has been in operation.

David Gauke: Annual breakdown of the number of employers that applied for national insurance holiday throughout the scheme in Barrow and Furness constituency is as follows:
	
		
			 Tax year1 Barrow and Furness constituency 
			 2010-11 (part year) 6 
			 2011-12 13 
			 2012-13 9 
			 1 The national insurance holiday was available to new businesses that started up during the period from 22 June 2010 to 5 September 2013 As such, statistics for tax years 2010-11 and 2013-14 do not cover the full year. The number for the part year 2013-14 was below 5 and cannot be released due to potential disclosure of individual employers. 
		
	
	In order to help businesses in a more straightforward way, the Government are introducing the employment allowance.
	From April 2014 businesses and charities will be entitled to a £2,000 employment allowance to reduce their employer NICs bill each year. The allowance will reduce the costs of employment, supporting small businesses aspiring to grow by hiring their first employee or expanding their work force.
	In the north-west, up to 137,000 employers will be able to benefit from the allowance in 2014-15, with £125 million of NICs relief delivered to the region and 53,000 employers lifted out of NICs completely.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of expenditure on his Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available.

Nicky Morgan: HM Treasury Group's direct and indirect spend with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from 2009-10 to 20012-13 has been reported on GOV.UK:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/buying-and-managing-government-goods-and-services-more-efficiently-and-effectively/supporting-pages/making-sure-government-gets-full-value-from-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises
	The information is not held on a regional basis.

Remittances

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make an estimate of the levels of annual remittances to persons in other countries made by persons based in the UK through banking and financial services systems located in the UK in each of the last four years.

Sajid Javid: The Treasury does not hold data on the annual flow of remittances to persons in other countries. The Treasury relies on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for data on UK transfers. The ONS does not publish separate estimates for remittances as they are not considered to be of sufficient quality. Instead, estimates for remittances are combined with estimates for net transfers from UK charities, defined in the UK Balance of Payments (the Pink Book) as “other payments by households”.
	Data for “other payments by households” are only available on an annual basis. The 2012 Edition of the Pink Book published in July estimated “other payments by households” at £5.74 billion in 2011:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/bop/united-kingdom-balance-of-payments/2012/index.html

Remittances

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he (a) has had and (b) plans to have with the financial services sector to ensure the continuation of facilities to permit remittances to persons in other countries made by persons based in the UK through banking and financial services systems located in the UK.

Sajid Javid: The Government has been and remains committed to constructive engagement with all relevant stakeholders to help find a comprehensive and durable solution to secure the future of the UK remittance market.
	In September, officials met representatives of the financial services sector and other interested parties to discuss possible actions the Government could take to help facilitate a sustainable market-led solution to problems in the remittance market.
	One of the agreed outcomes of the roundtable was the formation of an Action Group on Cross Border Remittances. Both banks and Money Service Businesses will be members of the group.

Remittances: Somalia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that Somalis living in the UK can continue to be able to transfer remittances to family in Somalia.

Sajid Javid: The Government is committed to supporting a healthy and legitimate remittance sector, and ensuring that UK citizens are able to continue to remit funds safely to family abroad. A written ministerial statement was laid on 10 October 2013, Official Report, columns 29-30WS, outlining the range of actions we are taking to facilitate a market-led solution to solve the problems in the remittance market; this includes the establishment of an action group on cross border remittances.
	The action group will incorporate a working group, tasked with developing a safe corridor pilot to help ensure the continued flow of remittances to Somalia through secure and accessible channels.

Revenue and Customs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a comparative assessment of the value for money of (a) HM Revenue and Customs' in-house debt collection and (b) private debt collection agencies.

David Gauke: HMRC has engaged the services of debt collection agencies to pursue debts which people have not resolved in response to HMRC’s contacts, as an alternative to HMRC taking enforcement action on those debts. Therefore it is not possible to arrive at a like for like comparison between two organisations.

Revenue and Customs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average end to end costs for HM Revenue and Customs are when recovering £1,000 worth of debt when pursued by (a) HM Revenue and Customs' debt management banking unit and (b) a private debt collection agency.

David Gauke: It is not possible to compare the cost of the HMRC and debt collection agency operations, as HMRC does not use the end to end services of debt collection agencies.

Revenue and Customs

Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the success rate is of private debt collection agencies engaged to act on unpaid debt by HM Revenue and Customs.

David Gauke: During the financial year 2012-13 additional revenue collected totalled £248.7 million. Payment by commission ensures good value for money.

Tax Allowances: Business

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the take-up of tax relief granted to businesses who have paid for financial advice for their employees.

David Gauke: Employees may receive financial advice in respect of the employee shareholder status.
	Details of the number of employee shareholders or number of companies offering the employee shareholder status is not available.
	Information about the number of individuals expected to benefit from the employee shareholder status and the associated exchequer revenue have been included in the impact assessment which can be found at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/tiin/emp-shareholder-status.pdf

Taxation: EU Nationals

Tessa Jowell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department's estimate is of the amount received in tax receipts through EEA migrants employed in the UK between December 2012 and December 2013.

Danny Alexander: No estimate has been made of the tax receipts from EEA migrants.

Taxation: Self-assessment

David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2014, Official Report, column 730W, on taxation: self-assessment, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people are not charged by copycat websites for services that are offered free by the state.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) takes customer confidence in their online services very seriously. Ministers have asked a cross-Government group, at which HMRC is a participant, to work with industry experts to mitigate the risks posed by copycat websites to customers.
	HMRC's extensive online services are best accessed by typing this address:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/
	directly into an internet browser.

Thames Garden Bridge

Mary Creagh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 17 January 2014, Official Report, column 11W, on the Thames Garden Bridge, who in his Department is responsible for preparing the business case for the Thames Garden Bridge; and when he expects the business case to be published.

Danny Alexander: Transport for London will be producing the business case for the Garden Bridge with input from the Garden Bridge Trust. TfL expect the business case to be completed by mid 2014.

Welfare Tax Credits: Self-employed

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many owners of small businesses are in receipt of tax credits.

Nicky Morgan: This information is not available.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Beaches

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the need for public beach operators to (a) carry out risk assessments and (b) provide a minimum level of life saving equipment on public beaches.

Michael Penning: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
	Under civil law, public beach operators may need to consider their wider public safety responsibilities, this may direct them towards the provision of rescue equipment at particular locations.
	Public beach operators may have responsibilities to carry out risk assessments and provide lifesaving equipment under the Health and Safety at work, etc. Act 1974. The nature of this duty extends to public beach operators if they are an employer and the extent of control they exercise over beach activities. In some circumstances they may have a duty to take reasonably practicable steps to reduce the risk of drowning. These steps would normally be based on an assessment of the risks at that location and may extend to the provision of lifesaving equipment.

Fire Services

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward legislative proposals to amend the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 to enable social enterprise and public mutuals to deliver fire and rescue services.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to my speech in the Adjournment debate of 13 May 2013, Official Report, column 470 onwards which sets out my position on mutuals very clearly. I am supportive of fire and rescue authorities looking at new and innovative ways of delivering their services to best meet the needs of their communities.

Infrastructure: Sussex

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the transport, road, waste and energy infrastructure in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex constituency for current and projected demand for housing;
	(2)  if he will review the infrastructure in (a) West Sussex and (b) Mid Sussex constituency in the light of current and projected demand for housing.

Nicholas Boles: The National Planning Policy Framework sets out clearly that local planning authorities should work with other authorities and providers to assess the quality and capacity of infrastructure for transport, water supply, wastewater and its treatment, energy (including heat), telecommunications, utilities, waste, health, social care, education, flood risk and costal change management, and its ability to meet forecast demands.
	National policy must be taken into account in developing Local Plans and is a material consideration in respect of individual planning applications (irrespective of whether areas have a Local Plan in place). I hope my right hon. Friend will appreciate, however, that as planning is a matter devolved to local councils I cannot comment on the situation in Mid Sussex specifically.
	Infrastructure was an issue raised as part of the BETA testing of new planning guidance and we are carefully considering the points raised before issuing the final version of the guidance.

Planning: Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how his Department will ensure public health concerns are a priority in the final version of the National Planning Practice Guidance.

Nicholas Boles: We are considering a range of issues following public comment in the BETA testing of the guidance, which include public health issues, and will ensure these are reflected in the final revision.

CABINET OFFICE

Crime

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the percentage change has been in recorded crime in each police force in England and Wales between 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department asking by what proportion police recorded crime has changed in each police force in England and Wales between 2012/13 and 2013/14. (188416)
	Data for 2013/14 have not yet been published; the latest published police recorded crime data relate to the year ending September 2013. These figures on total recorded crime—excluding fraud—have been provided in the table.
	During this period there has been a phased transition of responsibility for the recording of fraud from individual forces to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for such offences. To provide comparable data on recorded crime across the time period requested, fraud offences have thus been excluded.
	Further data, broken down by offence type, have been published by the ONS in Table P2 of the ‘Police force area data tables’ as part of the ‘Crime Statistics, period ending September 2013’ release, available here:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-326518
	In accordance with the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007, statistics based on police recorded crime data were assessed by the UK Statistics Authority against the Code of Practice for Official Statistics in January 2014 and found not to meet the required standard for designation as National Statistics.
	The next set of police recorded crime data—relating to the year ending December 2013—is due to be published by the ONS in April 2014.
	
		
			 Police recorded crime by police force area, English regions and Wales, percentage change, year ending September 2012 compared with year ending September 20131 (police recorded crime data are not designated as National Statistics) 
			 England and Wales 
			 Percentage change 
			 Police force area Total recorded crime (excluding, fraud2) 
			 Cleveland -1 
			 Durham -5 
			 Northumbria 1 
			 North East -1 
			   
			 Cheshire -1 
			 Cumbria 0 
			 Greater Manchester -7 
			 Lancashire -2 
			 Merseyside 0 
			 North West -3 
			   
			 Humberside 0 
			 North Yorkshire -5 
			 South Yorkshire -3 
			 West Yorkshire -4 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber -3 
			   
			 Derbyshire -4 
			 Leicestershire -4 
			 Lincolnshire -10 
			 Northamptonshire -8 
			 Nottinghamshire -1 
			 East Midlands -5 
			   
			 Staffordshire -6 
			 Warwickshire -7 
			 West Mercia -10 
			 West Midlands -1 
			 West Midlands -4 
			   
			 Bedfordshire -2 
		
	
	
		
			 Cambridgeshire -10 
			 Essex -1 
			 Hertfordshire -10 
			 Norfolk -3 
			 Suffolk -8 
			 East -5 
			   
			 London, City of 1 
			 Metropolitan Police -7 
			 London -7 
			   
			 Hampshire -9 
			 Kent3 8 
			 Surrey -7 
			 Sussex -7 
			 Thames Valley -4 
			 South East -4 
			   
			 Avon and Somerset -8 
			 Devon and Cornwall -3 
			 Dorset -6 
			 Gloucestershire -5 
			 Wiltshire -7 
			 South West -6 
			   
			 England -5 
			   
			 Dyfed-Powys -8 
			 Gwent 0 
			 North Wales -11 
			 South Wales -1 
			 Wales -4 
			   
			 British Transport Police 1 
			 1Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office 2 Action Fraud have taken over the recording of fraud offences on behalf of individual police forces. This process began in April 2011 and was rolled out to all police forces by March 2013. See the ‘User Guide to Crime Statistics for England and Wales’ for more details including information on the transfer date to Action Fraud for each force. 3 When interpreting data for Kent, users should be aware of recent changes to recording practices in that force. For further information see the section on ‘Accuracy of the statistics’ in the introduction to the statistical bulletin (‘Crime Statistics, period ending September 2013’).

Minister Without Portfolio

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  how many times the Minister Without Portfolio, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield has used an official Government car from the ministerial car pool since September 2012; and what the (a) departure point and (b) destination was in each such case;
	(2)  what international trips the Minister Without Portfolio, the right hon. Member for Welwyn Hatfield has undertaken in his official capacity since September 2012; and what modes of travel were used for each such trip.

Francis Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 January 2014, Official Report, column 248W.

Sky Lanterns

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to improve the level of voluntary action around the safe use of Chinese lanterns.

Jennifer Willott: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	Following a meeting between DEFRA and industry representatives on 9 December, a voluntary code of practice drafted by the British Retail Consortium in conjunction with other industry representatives and Trading Standards will be disseminated to manufacturers, importers and retailers. The aims of the code of practice are to make industry more accountable for the products they place onto the market, improve the quality of the lanterns, and increase consumer understanding of the potential risks.

Unemployment: Young People

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the proportion of young people who have been unemployed for more than 12 months in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Chelmsford local authority area.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated January 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking for the proportion of young people who have been unemployed for more than 12 months in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Chelmsford local authority area. (184693)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment estimates for small areas from the Annual Population Survey following International Labour Organisation definitions. Unfortunately, due to small sample sizes, the requested estimates are not available from this source.
	As an alternative we have provided the percentage of 18 to 24 year olds claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) for over 12 months from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative system. For December 2013, 0.7% of 18 to 24 year olds had been claiming JSA for over 12 months in Chelmsford constituency and 0.6% of 18 to 24 year olds had been claiming for over 12 months in Chelmsford Local Authority.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Voluntary Work: Young People

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent assessment he has made of the progress of the National Citizen Service.

Nick Hurd: Since it began the National Citizen Service (NCS) has created a total of 1 million hours of social action by young people in local communities across the country. More than 70,000 young people have taken part in NCS since 2011, with over 40,000 participants in 2013 alone—a substantial increase from 26,000 in 2012.
	A robust and independent evaluation of the 2012 pilots was published in July 2013 and underlined the success and value of NCS. It showed a return on investment of £2.8 for every £1 invested in the programme, and that 98% of participants said that they would recommend the programme to a friend.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2014, Official Report, column 251W, on Afghanistan, how much of the proposed modification work on vehicles used in Afghanistan to make them fit for use on UK roads will be undertaken by (a) the Defence Support Group and (b) other agencies or companies; how many of the companies who will undertake modifications of vehicles returning from Afghanistan to make them fit for use on UK roads have undertaken contract work during operations in Afghanistan; and how much his Department has (i) allocated and (ii) spent to date on the modification programme for vehicles bought specifically for Afghanistan to ensure that they are fit for use in the UK once the necessary negotiations with contactors are complete and necessary contracts are agreed.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for International Security Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison), on 8 January 2014, Official Report, column 251W. The position remains unchanged.

Armed Forces: Officers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days (a) last year and (b) this year to date the (i) Chief of the Air Staff, (ii) First Sea Lord and (iii) Chief of the General Staff worked in London.

Anna Soubry: The following table reflects the number of days last year and this year to date the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the First Sea Lord (CNS/ISL) and the Chief of the General Staff (CGS) have worked in London.
	
		
			 Days 
			  1 January to 31 December 2013 1 to 15 January 2014 
			 CAS 81 2 
			 CNS/ISL 118 3 
			 CGS 135 2 
		
	
	Lord Levene’s Defence Reform report recommended that the Service Chiefs' time and effort were focused on their respective Front Line Commands. In accordance with the principles of the new operating model, and dependent on the business requirement, the Service Chiefs balance their time between London and the Front Line Commands.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make an estimate of the unit price at the time of purchase of each vehicle bought as part of urgent operational requirements for use in Afghanistan.

Philip Dunne: I am withholding this information as its disclosure would prejudice commercial interests.

Army Reserve: Hampshire

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many new army reserve recruits there were in (a) Portsmouth South constituency and (b) Hampshire in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry: The estimated number of people who have joined the Army Reserve in Hampshire and the overall Portsmouth area since April 2012 is shown in the following table. Information prior to April 2012 is not held in the format requested.
	
		
			 Movements into TA Group A 
			 County or unitary authority 1 April 2012-31 March 2013 1 April 2013-30 November 2013 
			 Portsmouth 20 10 
			 Hampshire (including Portsmouth) 110 70 
			 Notes/caveats: 1. Information about the number of recruits by specific constituency boundaries is not recorded. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality. Source: Defence Statistics (Army)

Defence Equipment and Support

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2013, Official Report, columns 12-13W, on Defence Equipment and Support, whether his Department made estimates of the financial savings that would be achieved through the DE&S+ model before the decision to proceed with that model was made.

Philip Dunne: The decision to establish Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) as a bespoke trading entity was made on the basis that continuing with the commercial competition was unsafe and that, in transforming DE&S, we would look to build on, but not necessarily implement as outlined in the interim proposition, the DE&S+ model. We have not yet determined the level of financial savings expected of the new organisation.

European Fighter Aircraft

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to establish new markets for Typhoon aircraft.

Philip Dunne: It is first and foremost the job of British industry to identify new markets for the products it makes. Obviously, in the sector of defence, the Government will have a role in supporting sales to like-minded allies, as well as determining where we would not wish controlled goods to be sold. As part of this support, I discuss export issues relating to Typhoon using cross Whitehall forums including the National Security Council and its sub-groups and have attended overseas events in support of British interests, including exports. I look to UK Trade and Investment Defence and Security Organisation (part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) to identify new markets in close co-operation with BAE Systems. The Ministry of Defence will support these efforts as part of our wider defence engagement activity and as one of the Eurofighter Partner Nations, who all share an interest in helping to enhance the prospects for other nations to bring this extremely capable aircraft into service.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2013, Official Report, column 406W, on military aircraft, how many aircraft of each type were used to calculate the net book value.

Philip Dunne: holding answer 24 January 2014
	The number of aircraft used to calculate the net book value of each type was as follows:
	
		
			 Aircraft type Number of aircraft 
			 Reaper 5 
			 Chinook 46 
			 Merlin 66 
			 Puma/Gazelle 34 
			 Sea King 103 
			 Apache 66 
			 Lynx 101 
			 Islander 4 
			 BAE 146 4 
			 BAE 125 6 
			 Vigilant 65 
			 Viking 82 
			 Sentry 6

Military Aircraft

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 November 20113, Official Report, column 202W, on military aircraft, how many laser pen related events occurred in (a) Afghanistan, (b) Iraq, (c) the UK and (d) Libya.

Mark Francois: Of the 162 laser related events reported in my answer of 6 November 2013, Official Report, column 202W, 76 were in the UK and 86 were overseas. I am withholding the location of the overseas events as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. It is not possible to determine whether laser pens were responsible for these events.

Navy

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the main gate decision will be taken for the next generation of the Royal Navy's airborne surveillance and control capability; whether the Royal Navy's existing capability will continue at current levels until the successor system is available; what assessment he has made of the risks involved in any future gap in the Royal Navy's airborne surveillance and control capability; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Project which will deliver the next generation of airborne surveillance, CROWSNEST, entered the third element of its assessment phase in March 2013. Work is currently under way to finalise the Main Gate investment decision. The Royal Navy's airborne surveillance is currently provided by the Sea King platform, which is due to be taken out of service in 2016. Until CROWSNEST enters service, surveillance capability will be provided by other platforms and systems working together in a layered defence approach to support the UK Task Group, but these other platforms will not be able to eliminate entirely the Royal Navy's organic gap in airborne early warning capability.

Navy

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the Order of Battle is of the Fleet.

Mark Francois: As at 22 January 2014, the Order of Battle for the Fleet is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Order of Battle 
			 Landing Platform Helicopter 2 
			 Landing Platform Dock 2 
			 T45 6 
			 T23 13 
			 Hunt Class MCV 8 
			 Sandown Class MCV 7 
			 River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels 3 
			 Helicopter Offshore Patrol Vessels 1 
			 P2000 Patrol Boats 18 
			 Ocean Survey Vessels 1 
			 Coastal Survey Vessels 3 
			 Ice Patrol Ship 1 
			 Ships Submersible Ballistic Nuclear 4 
			 Ship Submersible Nuclear 7 
			 Assault Helicopters—Sea King Mk4 1 Sqn 
			 Search and Rescue—Sea King Mk5 1 Sqn 
			 Airbourne Surveillance and Control—Sea King Mk7 3 Sqns 
			   
			 Anti Submarine and Anti Surface:  
			 Merlin Mk1 and Mk2 4 Sqns 
			 Lynx Mk8 and Wildcat 3 Sqns 
			   
			 Battlefield Helicopters—Wildcat 1 Sqn 
			 Elementary Flying 3 Sqns 
			 Beechcraft King Air 350ER Avenger 1 Sqn 
		
	
	For the Royal Fleet Auxiliary:
	
		
			  Order of Battle 
			 Fleet Tankers 2 
			 Support Tankers 1 
			 Small Fleet Tankers 2 
			 Fleet Replenishment Ships 3 
			 Landing Ship Dock 3 
			 Aviation Training Ship 1 
			 Forward Repair Ship 1

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the disposal value of RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: RAF Northolt is not planned for disposal. The Ministry of Defence therefore holds no estimate of its current market value.
	Details of MOD land holdings with asset valuation over £1 million can be found in chapter 7 of the National Asset Register, last published by HM Treasury in 2007. RAF Northolt's value was set at £224.067 million.

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the future use of RAF Northolt following the publication of the Airports Commission Interim report; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: The Government established the independent Airports Commission to identify and recommend to Government options for maintaining this country's status as an international hub for aviation. Prior to the publication of its Interim Report, the Airports Commission considered different proposals to allow for more extensive use of RAF Northolt for commercial air traffic that would otherwise use Heathrow airport. However, the Commission concluded in its Interim Report, published on 17 December 2013, that RAF Northolt does not provide a realistic option for managing capacity at Heathrow.
	The Government will not comment on the relative merits of the options shortlisted in the Airports Commission's Interim Report, or on the options that have not been shortlisted, until after the Commission has produced its final report in the summer of 2015.

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to undertake a full option appraisal on the future use of RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Murrison: None.

Redundancy

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials from his Department have (a) been made redundant since 2010 and (b) been made redundant then re-employed directly or as external consultants.

Anna Soubry: The following table details the number of officials who have left the Ministry of Defence (MOD) through compulsory early retirement or severance, through voluntary release and redundancy, or under the terms of the Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS) since financial year (FY) 2009-10.
	Fewer than 0.05% of those who left under such schemes have been rehired as MOD civilians, and no staff made redundant in the specified period are currently employed by the MOD as consultants.
	The MOD had to make difficult decisions to deal with the inherited budget deficit, which included reducing our civilian headcount. Now that the budget is balanced, we are able, in a small number of specific cases, to recruit externally. Such cases would include where there is a need for specialist skills for one-off and short-life projects or where it is necessary to backfill behind deployed staff.
	
		
			  FY 2009-10 FY 2010-11 FY 2011-12 FY 2012-13 FY 2013-141 
			 Voluntary Release and Redundancy 400 180 40 40 10 
			 Voluntary Early Release Scheme2 - - 5,950 3,240 570 
			 Compulsory Retirement/Severance 210 150 20 40 10 
			 1 2013-14 period covers date range 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013 inclusive. 2 Personnel exiting under Voluntary Early Release Schemes (VERS) from 1 July 2011 onwards are listed separately from those leaving under alternative voluntary release or redundancy schemes. Source: Defence Statistics (Civilian)

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 708W, on unmanned air vehicles, if he will request that the US Air Force provide a breakdown of the £10.5 million provided to support operations at RAF Croughton by each (a) unit present, (b) activity carried out and (c) facility used at the base.

Mark Francois: The information is not centrally held by the United States Air Force and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Warships

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have been informed that the Fleet Ready Escort has been gapped in each of the last five years; and how long each gap was;
	(2)  what ships have been assigned to Fleet Ready Escort tasking in the last five years; and for how long each such ship was assigned;
	(3)  on how many occasions an offshore patrol vessel and a mine countermeasure vessel have been assigned Fleet Ready Escort tasking;
	(4)  whether Ministers in his Department must be informed of any gap in tasking for the Fleet Ready Escort.

Mark Francois: I will write to the hon. Member once the information has been collated.
	Substantive answer from Mark Francois to Angus Robertson:
	I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Questions on 9 December 2013 (Official Report, column 72W) about the Fleet Ready Escort (FRE) as Ministry of Defence officials required additional time to examine the information available.
	I am aware that my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Mr Dunne) was unable, due to time constraints, to answer the questions you raised about the FRE during the Westminster Hall Debate on Royal Navy Ships on 3 December 2013 (Official Report, column 192WH). He too undertook to write to you and I hope the response below addresses all the points you made.
	The FRE is a designated Royal Navy Frigate or Destroyer maintained at high readiness to provide contingent capability in UK home waters. There are usually a number of Royal Navy units available at sea at any one time. If the designated FRE is not available or there is another unit closer to the area of concern or interest, and if it is appropriate, that unit could be reprioritised to undertake the required task, such as Maritime Security.
	This is one of the Royal Navy's key responsibilities and as such, Ministers would be informed if there were no units able to conduct FRE.
	There is no central record of the number of occasions Ministers have been informed of a gap in the FRE tasking, but the available documentation indicates that Ministers have been informed on two occasions that the FRE commitment would not be covered by a dedicated vessel, once in 2011 for a period of 19 days and once in 2012 for a period of 18 days. This does not mean that there were no Frigates or Destroyers in UK waters during those periods or that no vessel could, had the situation demanded it, have conducted FRE at that time.
	Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) are regularly used for Maritime Security tasks, but there has not been an occasion when an OPV or a Mine Countermeasure Vessel has been designated as the FRE.
	A record of the ships assigned to FRE tasking in the last five years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Apprentices

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many apprentices have been hired due to his Department's new contract for procurement.

Michael Penning: In order to improve the number of apprenticeships and wider skills opportunities created through procurement, DWP introduced a contract schedule to its terms and conditions in April 2010 for all new contracts.
	DWP is awaiting Cabinet Office notice to confirm arrangements for the provision of a pan-government single supplier registration and data gathering tool to evaluate the numbers.

Biocidal Products: EU Law

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the cost to UK businesses of the Biocidal Product Regulation; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: A full UK impact assessment analysing the costs, benefits, and other impacts of the main elements of the proposed regulation on the UK was published in November 2010. That impact assessment drew on a contract study which identified significant expected savings for the UK from the new regulation compared with the earlier Biocidal Products directive. The expected savings resulted from a more efficient system for authorising biocidal products for sale and use across the EU and other improved conditions for UK companies in the EU biocidal products market.
	Following adoption of the regulation in 2012 the costs and benefits were recalculated to reflect the adopted text and later developments. Relative to the earlier directive, which has now been revoked and replaced by the regulation, this further assessment indicated overall cost savings for the UK in the range £30 million to £230 million over 10 years.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to housing benefit bulletin U1/2014, how many people who have wrongly had their housing benefit reduced have subsequently died.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Housing Benefit

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to housing benefit bulletin U1/2014, what provision exists for reimbursing the estates of people who have wrongly had their housing benefit reduced and have subsequently died.

Esther McVey: Where a person dies and an underpayment of housing benefit is due, the executor of their estate will be reimbursed with any payments which are due.

Housing Benefit

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people under the age of 25 receive housing benefit.

Steve Webb: This information is available via stat-xplore which can be found at the following link:
	https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will carry out an assessment of the potential effect of the under-occupancy penalty on foster carers who look after more than one child.

Esther McVey: We already allow an additional room for foster carers, which in some circumstances provides for up to two foster children.
	In addition, we have made £5 million a year of discretionary housing payment funding available specifically to meet the costs of further rooms that may be needed by those fostering two or more children, including groups of siblings.
	The Department for Education is commissioning independent research, part of which will consider if there are any effects from the removal of the spare room subsidy on foster carers. This is in addition to the wider evaluation of the impact of the removal of the spare room subsidy commissioned by DWP and being led by Ipsos-MORI.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many social housing tenants affected by the under-occupancy penalty will receive the exemption for those who have lived continuously at the same property since 1 January 1996 in (a) Wales, (b) each Welsh parliamentary constituency and (c) each Welsh local authority.

Esther McVey: On the information currently available, we estimate that nationally the numbers affected are likely to be fewer than 5,000.
	We do not hold sufficient information to provide breakdowns below national level.
	Local authorities administer housing benefit and in due course they may have a clearer picture as to the numbers affected.

Job Creation

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with Ministers in other Departments on job creation in areas with high unemployment; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), meets regularly with Ministers across Government to discuss a variety of issues, including how to support people back into work.

Jobcentre Plus

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the quality and effectiveness of literacy and numeracy training provided by Jobcentre Plus and its training providers; and how such information is gathered;
	(2)  how many jobseekers were (a) identified as lacking basic ICT skills and (b) referred to training within Jobcentre Plus or with a training provider in each of the last two years;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the quality and effectiveness of digital skills training provided by (a) Jobcentre Plus and (b) its training providers; and how this information is gathered.

Esther McVey: The Department for Business Innovations and Skills has responsibility in England for the Adult Skills budget, in Wales this responsibility lies with the Welsh Assembly and in Scotland lies with the Scottish Government.
	The assessment of the quality and effectiveness of training providers in England is made by Ofsted. The devolved Administration have their own quality and performance management standards as part of their funding arrangements. In Wales this assessment is made by Estyn and in Scotland by HMIe.
	Where skills training is directly funded by DWP, the assessment of the quality and effectiveness of training providers is made by the Department's own commercial arm and its contract managers.
	We do not currently hold any data on the number jobseekers identified as lacking basic ICT skills in the last two years.
	Between August 2011 and August 2013 there have been 500,520 jobseekers referrals to training within Jobcentre Plus or with a training provider.

Jobcentre Plus

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what guidance is provided to Jobcentre Plus advisers to help them advise customers who have been sanctioned of alternative sources of financial assistance or general advice.

Esther McVey: All advisers have access to comprehensive and clear procedures, guidance and extensive learning which equips them to advise customers who have been sanctioned including alternative sources of financial assistance.
	Where a benefit doubt is identified and the case is being referred to a decision maker, claimants are given information (verbally and in writing) about the doubt in question, what happens next, what they can do if a sanction is applied and the availability of jobseeker's allowance under the hardship provision.
	Once a decision is made and a sanction applied, a formal notification is issued to the claimant, which includes information about the availability of jobseeker's allowance under the hardship provision.
	Where the Department for Work and Pensions is unable to help claimants they will be signposted to other types of support in their areas, including local authorities.

Jobcentre Plus

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus districts are required to report on (a) the numbers of claimants they have identified as having a skills gap in ICT and (b) the number of these claimants who successfully complete a digital skills training course.

Esther McVey: Jobcentre Plus districts are not required to report on the number of claimants they identify as having a skills gap in ICT and are not required to report the number of these claimants who successfully complete a digital skills course.

Jobcentre Plus

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether Jobcentre Plus adviser skills workshops are part of a formal and mandatory training programme.

Esther McVey: Adviser skills workshops are part of a formal recommended learning programme.
	The learning programme is a combination of both technical and skills learning and the adviser skills workshops focus primarily on the skills aspect. Following the core series of skills workshops there are also periods of supported workplace consolidation available to enable advisers to effectively interview customers, diagnose their needs, identify challenges to work and solutions that can progress these customers towards and into employment. Around these workshops advisers receive other relevant knowledge and procedural learning.
	The learning needs of staff are diagnosed on an individual basis which will inform personalised learning requirements, therefore, this learning forms part of a recommended learning routeway for advisers rather than a mandated one.

Legal Costs

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department has spent on costs and compensation relating to legal action taken against it in each of the last five years for which data is available.

Michael Penning: The Department's records relating to legal costs and compensation paid do not distinguish between actions which the Department has brought and actions which it has defended. Disaggregating the data would take the costs of responding to the question over the disproportionate cost threshold.

National Insurance: Foreign Nationals

Mark Reckless: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether overseas nationals who do not disclose their country of origin are accounted for within releases of national insurance number statistics within the National Insurance Recording System.

Esther McVey: National statistics on national insurance number registrations to adult overseas nationals include a small number of cases (less than 0.1%) where specific nationality is not recorded.

Public Expenditure

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2012-13, what the value of the funding that is subject to dual key arrangements is referred to in Table 1 on page 172.

Michael Penning: The value of dual key funding included on the unallocated provision lines in table 1 are:
	
		
			 £ million nominal 
			  2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 
			 Resource DEL unallocated provision 1,218 1,441 211 
			 Capital DEL unallocated provision 249 110 —

Remploy: Edinburgh

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Remploy workers were made redundant as a result of the closure of Remploy in South Gyle, Edinburgh.

Michael Penning: A total of 28 staff, 27 disabled and one non-disabled, were made redundant as a result of the closure of the Remploy factory in South Gyle, Edinburgh.

Social Security Benefits

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department provides to vulnerable people with filling in forms in order to ensure they receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

Esther McVey: The Department is keen to ensure that all people, however complex their needs, are able to access its services when they need to, and it provides a range of help and support to people to achieve this. This support is tailored to the personal needs of the individual and depends on which service is being used or which benefit is being claimed.
	DWP offers a variety of communication methods to aid individuals to access benefits and services. To help individuals complete the relevant forms, we provide to face appointments with an adviser, in the office or a quiet/private interview room; use of a representative, family member or intermediary and, where appropriate, home visits.
	The Department will also provide forms in alternative formats such as Braille or large text if required, and aids such as textphones and audio loops. In addition, many of our forms are available electronically via the intranet or email, enabling individuals to use their own assistive technology to complete the forms.
	A range of guidance, training, advice and information is available for staff to help them engage effectively with individuals with complex needs and with those that require additional support to enable them to access benefits and use DWP services.

Social Security Benefits: EU Nationals

Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many EEA migrants in the UK were claiming (a) jobseeker's allowance, (b) housing benefit and (c) both between December 2012 and December 2013;
	(2)  how many EEA migrants in the UK will become ineligible to claim housing benefit if restrictions were applied to the eligibility of unemployed migrants for such a benefit.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available in the form requested however the Department does publish some statistics on working age benefit recipients, which includes those receiving jobseeker's allowance, but not housing benefit. This information is known as “Nationality at point of National Insurance number registration of DWP benefit claimants” and is included in the Statistical Bulletin on National Insurance Number Allocations to Adult Overseas Nationals Entering the UK—registrations to March 2013, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nino-allocations-to-adult-overseas-nationals-entering-the-uk-registrations-to-march-2013
	We will be changing the law so that new EEA jobseekers, who have not recently worked in the UK, will no longer have access to housing benefit when they get income-based jobseeker's allowance (JSA). This will apply from the beginning of April.

Social Security Benefits: Immigrants

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many immigrants have claimed benefits within three months of registering for a national insurance number in Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency in each of the last three years.

Esther McVey: The information you requested is not readily available but the Department for Work and Pensions does publish information on non-UK nationals who claim working age benefits within six months of registering for a national insurance number.
	I have asked the Department’s statisticians to recommend the best option for producing statistics on benefit claiming within three months from registration as part of our normal publication schedule. We will keep users informed about the agreed approach via an update to the Department’s statistics web pages.

Travel to Interview

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what support his Department gives to unemployed people concerning travel expenses as a result of attending job interviews.

Esther McVey: The Flexible Support Fund may be used to support a wide range of activities which help claimants find work. This includes funding travel to interview costs.

Unemployed People: Basic Skills

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people in receipt of incapacity benefit or employment support allowance were referred by a jobcentre for training to enhance their basic skills in each of the last six years;
	(2)  how many people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance were referred by a jobcentre to receive training to enhance their basic skills in each of the last six years.

Esther McVey: The Department does not publish information on the number of people claiming incapacity benefit, employment support allowance or jobseekers' allowance that were referred by JCP to basic skills training in the last six years.
	Skills Conditionality policy was introduced from August 2011. Claimants who are required to actively seek or prepare for work can be mandated to undertake activity to address an identified skills need which will aid their movement into work. This includes basic skills training.
	Skills Conditionality applies to those receiving jobseeker's allowance or employment and support allowance (work-related activity group) and data on the aggregate number of referrals to Skills Conditionality training, including basic skills training, from these two benefit groups can be found here:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pre-work-programme-support-mandatory-programmes-november-2013.html

Vacancies: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies were notified to Chelmsford jobcentre in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Esther McVey: The Universal Jobmatch System was introduced in November 2012. The system does not provide data at jobcentre level, as all vacancies notified to the system are available to all users.

Work Programme

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which local authority leaders (a) he and (b) his officials have met to discuss the Work Programme.

Esther McVey: Ministers and officials meet frequently with representatives of local authorities, either individually or in groups, to discuss the range of departmental business and our shared interest in helping people back to work. Inevitably, those conversations will often touch on the Work programme, among other issues.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy: Billing

Phillip Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of people who froze their energy bill with their energy company before the Government’s announcement of steps to help families with energy bills on 2 December 2013 and were therefore unable to take advantage of the measures in that announcement; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: As of quarter 3 of 2013 (latest data available), 18% of standard electricity customers in the UK were on fixed or capped tariffs and 21% of gas customers were on fixed or capped tariffs. These figures are taken from tables 2.4.2 and 2.5.2 of DECC’s publication quarterly energy prices.
	The package of measures announced on 2 December will see households receive a reduction in their energy bill of around £50 on average, compared to what it would have otherwise be. The Government has encouraged energy suppliers to ensure that all customers benefit from the whole package of measures.

Energy: Billing

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of households pay for their (a) gas, (b) electricity and (c) water by direct debit.

Michael Fallon: As of quarter 3 of 2013, 57% of gas customers, 55% of standard electricity customers and 51% of Economy 7 customers in the UK paid by direct debit. These figures are taken from tables 2.4.2, 2.4.3 and 2.5.2 of DECC’s publication quarterly energy prices.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is responsible for the water industry.

Energy: Prices

Michael Crockart: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what advice his Department gives to people facing increasing energy bills as a result of standing charges.

Michael Fallon: The introduction of a standardised tariff structure makes tariffs simpler and easier to understand and is part of Ofgem’s reforms for a simpler, clearer, fairer energy market.
	Under these rules, suppliers must structure their tariffs using only a single unit rate and, if they choose, a standing charge. A number of suppliers currently offer tariffs which set the standing charge at zero or at a low rate, which some customers might find more appropriate for their circumstances.
	Ofgem’s package of reforms is making it far easier for consumers to compare deals and find the best tariff for them. Someone switching at the moment from the worst deal on the market to the best online deal could save around £200 on an annual dual fuel bill.

Fracking

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on which sites in the UK fracking for oil has taken place in the last five years; how many complaints have been received by the Environment Agency about such fracking; and what assessments the Environment Agency has made of the risks (a) of earthquakes or tremors and (b) associated with waste water disposal in each site.

Michael Fallon: The only well on which any hydraulic fracturing activity has been carried out for oil in the last five years was Wytch Farm F25 in Dorset in May 2012—a water injection well drilled by Perenco at Wytch Farm oil field. In this standard procedure for improving recovery, cold seawater and produced water is injected in to the sandstone reservoir rock to flush the oil producing wells, and the temperature difference creates local thermal fractures near the borehole.
	When planning applications for oil and gas sites are submitted, the Environment Agency review the waste water disposal options and require environmental permits where necessary. To date, all such activity has been conventional exploration.

Fracking

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the level of potential flaring on shale gas sites.

Michael Fallon: All flaring and venting from oil and gas exploration or production activities, including shale gas activities, is subject to existing DECC controls. DECC's policy is that venting should not take place except where technically necessary, normally for safety reasons, and flaring should be reduced to the economic minimum.
	The Environment Agency's draft technical guidance for onshore oil and gas exploratory operations makes clear that operators should apply a hierarchy of controls to ensure waste gas is first prevented, then minimised and finally rendered harmless. The guidance makes clear that the operators should initially consider installing an engine to burn the gas and recover energy from it but that if this is not possible then a flare may be used. Operators must be able to show that their activities, including flaring during exploration, do not lead to emissions at levels higher than those set out in their environmental permits.

Fracking

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the Strategic Environmental Assessment commissioned by his Department on the extraction of shale gas was amended following consultation with green groups.

Michael Fallon: No. A number of bodies with environmental interests were consulted on the scoping of the Strategic Environmental Assessment for further onshore oil and gas licensing, including those prescribed by regulation. The comments subsequently submitted by these bodies and the actions taken in response are summarised in Appendix A to the Environmental Report, published on 17 December 2013, and can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/273999/Appendix_A_DECC_SEA_Env_ eport_Consultation_Responses.pdf

Plutonium

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what evaluation (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Nuclear Regulation plans to make of the implications for implementation of UK nuclear security policy of the implementation of each of the three options set out in the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority’s paper on Progress on approaches to the management of separated plutonium, published on 20 January 2014.

Michael Fallon: The next phase of work on options for plutonium management will require the NDA to carry out further work to better understand the technical, commercial and implementation issues associated with all the options for plutonium management. This will include engagement with the Office for Nuclear Regulation and will consider relevant nuclear safety and nuclear security elements of each option.
	As we noted in our 2011 consultation response, there will be many steps before we reach the point of taking a final decision on the technology for plutonium disposition. Only when the Government is confident that its preferred option could be implemented safely and securely, that it is affordable, deliverable and offers value for money, will it be in a position to proceed.

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of expenditure on his Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The breakdown of contract expenditure on small and medium-sized enterprises by region is not held centrally and can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The Department and its arm’s length bodies from April to September 2013 reported that 10.2% of spend was with small and medium-sized enterprises against total procurement spend.
	Contracts of the Department are published on the Cabinet Office Website which can be found at:
	www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk
	The Department would be able to provide further contract information by narrowing the scope, if specific procurement projects were identified.

Renewable Energy

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of using auctions for Contracts for Difference to encourage investment in renewable energy projects.

Michael Fallon: We have always been clear that auctions can be used to drive value for money, once the market is sufficiently developed1. As set out in the Consultation on Competitive Allocation, published by the Department on 16 January 20142, we consider that market conditions are such that for some, more established, technologies this will be the case from the start of the allocation of CfDs under the enduring arrangements.
	For these established technologies, the proposed move to competition builds on the strong progress on cost reduction and the well-developed pipeline. For less established technologies, our aim is to ensure that they can deploy at levels which enable continued cost reduction and which ultimately support cheaper deployment in the long-term.
	We continue to develop and implement our detailed proposals for competitive allocation of CfDs, which has the potential to improve value for money, encourage new entry and drive innovation.
	1Note:
	“Planning our electric future: a White Paper for secure, affordable and low-carbon electricity”, July 2011, paragraph 2.3.23
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/48129/2176-emr-white-paper.pdf
	2Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/271919/Competitive_allocation_consultation_formatted.pdf

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Armed Conflict: Sexual Offences

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether representatives of the Women’s League of Burma have been invited to the international summit on sexual violence in conflict being planned by the Government for June 2014; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: The Preventing Sexual Violence summit in June will focus on turning political commitments into practical action and, so as to end the use of rape and sexual violence in conflict. It will be the largest global event ever convened on this issue and will bring together conflict and post conflict affected countries, donors, the UN and other multilateral organisations, NGOs and civil society.
	While the list of invitations is yet to be confirmed, we are currently working with our embassies around the world to ensure that there is broad global representation at the summit, including from those organisations working directly on the ground supporting survivors of sexual violence. This work will also consider how best to harness international expertise on this issue in a wider sense, including through related international events.

British Nationals Abroad

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he plans to complete the review on services offered in situations where UK residents are harmed abroad; and if he will publish the results of that review.

Mark Simmonds: This review will be conducted during the first half of 2014, and its recommendations will be considered by the autumn.
	The review described in the question will consider how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can further develop its Consular response to cases of murder and manslaughter. It will also include an assessment of the existing Memorandum of Understanding with UK Police and Coroners of England and Wales. Once the review is complete, if it results in the adoption of new policies in these areas, a copy of the new policies will be placed in the Library of the House.

British Nationals Abroad: Crime

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there are basic service levels or protocols in place in respect of services offered in situations where UK residents are harmed abroad.

Mark Simmonds: Basic service levels for the help the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides are defined in our public statement ‘Support for British Nationals Abroad'. This can be found on the Gov.uk website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/support-for-british-nationals-abroad-a-guide
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the question from my hon. (Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel), on 16 May 2013, Official Report, column 394W, and the answer given by my noble Friend, the Senior Minister of State right hon. Baroness Warsi PC, to the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, on 23 April 2013, Official Report, House of Lords, column 1350.

British Nationals Abroad: Homicide

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will establish a unit in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to support bereaved families of British nationals murdered overseas.

Mark Simmonds: Foreign and Commonwealth Office consular staff are trained in how to support bereaved families, and internal guidance on murder and manslaughter, and related areas, focuses on how best to help them. We continually look at ways to improve these services and as part of our review this year of the consular response to cases of murder and manslaughter, we will be considering the resources available, including how casework teams are most effectively organised and whether we should have a dedicated unit to provide support to bereaved families of British nationals murdered abroad.

British Nationals Abroad: Homicide

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to review the services provided to bereaved families of UK nationals murdered overseas.

Mark Simmonds: This review will be conducted during the first half of 2014, and its recommendations will be considered by the autumn.
	The review described in the question will consider how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office can further develop its consular response to cases of murder and manslaughter. It will also include an assessment of the existing Memorandum of Understanding with UK Police and Coroners of England and Wales. Once the review is complete, if it results in the adoption of new policies in these areas, a copy of the new policies will be placed in the Library of the House.

Burma

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the Shan Human Rights Foundation's reports that villagers in Murng Paeng township in Burma are being used as forced labour by Burmese Government troops giving security to military-linked logging operations above the planned Ta Sang Dam; whether any UK companies are involved in planning or construction of the Ta Sang Dam in Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Hugo Swire: We are aware of the reports from the Shan Human Rights Foundation.
	We are also aware of reports that a British company is involved in the dam project. We make clear to every British company operating in Burma that their investment should be made responsibly and in line with international standards.
	The 2013 UNGA resolution on the human rights situation in Burma, co-sponsored by the EU and agreed by consensus, welcomed steps taken by the Burmese Government to improve engagement and co-operation with the UN and the International Labour Organisation and welcomed progress made towards the elimination of forced labour.
	We continue to raise our concerns about incidents of forced labour and urge the Burmese Government to sign the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which includes articles that prohibit the use of forced labour. I am due to raise this issue during my forthcoming visit to Burma. The British ambassador frequently raises the wide range of human rights issues, including that of forced labour, with senior members of the Burmese Government.

Iran

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on nuclear negotiations of statements by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that the P5+1 have recognised Iran's right to enrich uranium.

Hugh Robertson: The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) does not explicitly refer to a “right to enrich” and the UK does not believe such a right exists for any country under the NPT. The Joint Plan of Action agreed between Iran and the E3+3 at Geneva in November 2013 sets out that, in the event of a comprehensive settlement, Iran would have “a mutually defined enrichment programme with mutually agreed parameters consistent with practical needs”. Agreeing the limitations on this enrichment programme, not statements about recognition of the right to enrichment, will be a key issue in the comprehensive negotiations, which are expected to begin in February.

Iran

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effect on nuclear negotiations of statements by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the P5+1 surrendered to Iran's national will over its nuclear programme.

Hugh Robertson: The Joint Plan of Action, agreed with Iran in Geneva on 23 November, is a good deal and an important step towards increased peace and security in the region. On its entry into force on 20 January, Iran halted key aspects of its nuclear programme and in some places rolled it back in return for proportionate sanctions relief. However, Iran needs to take further steps to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. Negotiations on a comprehensive agreement to achieve this are expected to start in February.

Iraq: Iran

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the seven Ashraf hostages held in Iraq; if he will suspend bilateral relations and foreign aid should these hostages be handed over to the Iranian regime; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We are aware of press reporting that suggests seven residents of Camp Ashraf in Iraq were abducted. We have raised this issue with the Government of Iraq and asked them to locate those reported missing. We continue to call for their immediate and safe return.
	Following the attack on our embassy in Tehran on 29 November 2011, diplomatic relations with Iran were reduced to their lowest level possible, but were not completely severed. We are open to more direct contact with Iran and continued improvements in our bilateral relationship on a step by step and reciprocal basis.

Iraq: Iran

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the UN Secretary General and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights launching an independent investigation into the events at Camp Ashraf in Iraq on 1 September 2013.

Hugh Robertson: The Government of Iraq, as the sovereign Government, is responsible for investigating the attack on Camp Ashraf on 1 September 2013. We and the UN have called on the Government of Iraq to undertake this investigation.

Montenegro

Mark Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy not to support the admission of Montenegro to the EU unless satisfied that due process and the rule of law is seen to operate.

David Lidington: The UK is a strong supporter of Montenegro’s accession to the EU, as it is for all countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, once they meet in full the rigorous accession criteria. These criteria include ensuring that due process and the rule of law operate and are firmly embedded within countries’ judicial and political systems.
	Montenegro is the first candidate country to negotiate EU accession under the so-called “New Approach”, which strengthens the importance of the “rule of law” chapters of the acquis—chapter 23 (Judiciary and Fundamental Rights) and chapter 24 (Justice, Freedom and Security). These chapters must now be among the first that are opened for negotiation, which maximises the time available for candidate countries to address these fundamental issues and establish a strong track records of reform.
	Montenegro has adopted robust action plans to address the challenges it faces in this area, and we will continue to monitor its progress closely. Montenegro will only be able to close negotiation of these “rule of law” chapters once it has met in full the relevant benchmarks, and will only be able to join the EU once all member states are satisfied it has met the accession criteria across the full acquis.

Nigeria

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the threat to regional stability from oil theft in the Niger delta.

Mark Simmonds: Oil theft is a complex problem and its impact in the region is disputed. A recent Chatham House report concluded that
	“Oil theft has not been a big security risk for Nigeria or West Africa”
	but has had a significant local impact on the Niger delta.
	We have discussed oil theft at all levels with the Nigerian Government, including at meetings between the Prime Minister and President Jonathan and have offered to support Nigerians efforts to tackle the issue.
	We will continue to monitor the situation closely and to seek where we can to support regional stability. For example, we are working with regional states and organisations to tackle maritime insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea.

Pakistan

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Pakistani government regarding the persecution of religious minorities using the Blasphemy Act; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: We regularly raise the issue of the blasphemy laws, and their misuse against both Muslims and religious minorities at the highest levels of Pakistan Government.
	Our concerns about this issue are documented in the FCO's Annual Human Rights Report, so we will not be making a statement.

Sri Lanka

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2014, Official Report, columns 607-08W, on Sri Lanka, what recent assessment he has made of the likelihood of a credible domestic process beginning by March 2014.

Hugo Swire: In her September 2013 oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said she had ‘detected no new or comprehensive efforts to investigate’ alleged war crimes during her visit to Sri Lanka. At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November, the Prime Minister, subsequently made clear to President Rajapaksa that unless a credible national accountability process has begun properly by March 2014, we will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to call for an international investigation. We have also highlighted that any domestic process should be credible, independent and transparent to be accepted by the international community. We do not believe that any of the processes established to date by the Sri Lankan Government—such as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission—meet these standards. If a genuine and credible process has begun properly by March 2014, we would give it our full support.

Thailand

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice and assistance his Department is offering to UK nationals in Thailand, following the recent declaration of a state of emergency by the Thai government.

Hugo Swire: We are monitoring the situation closely and are regularly updating our travel advice for Thailand to reflect developments so that travellers and residents can make informed decisions about the situation. The travel advice contains factual information about the protests, the forthcoming national election and the state of emergency. We advise British nationals to monitor local news and social media for developments, take extra care and avoid all protests, political gatherings, demonstrations and marches. British nationals can subscribe to e-mail alerts for updates to the Thailand travel advice. Travel advice changes are also publicised on social media.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development at what level the Government will be represented at the 2014 Sanitation and Water for All high-level meeting in Washington, DC.

Lynne Featherstone: I plan to represent DFID at the 2014 Sanitation and Water for All high-level meeting.

Overseas Aid

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps she has taken to embed gender equality concerns into the Multilateral Aid Review.

Justine Greening: Full detail on this can be found in the Multilateral Aid Review Update final report
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multilateral-aid-review-update-2013-interim-report

Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of expenditure on her Department's procurement contracts was placed with small and medium-sized enterprises based in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland, (e) the North East, (f) the North West, (g) Yorkshire and the Humber, (h) the East Midlands, (i) the West Midlands, (j) the East of England, (k) London, (l) the South East and (m) the South West in the last three years for which figures are available.

Justine Greening: The Department had the following proportion of contract expenditure with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK during the fiscal periods 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13.
	
		
			 Fiscal year Total UK suppliers (percentage) 
			 2010-11 26 
			 2011-12 25 
			 2012-13 25 
		
	
	DFID does not record information on the geographical location of SMEs that hold contracts with the Department to the level of detail you have specified.

Rwanda

Peter Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effects of the political situation in Rwanda on the ability of her Department to work with the government of that country; and if she will take steps to route UK assistance to Rwanda through non-governmental bodies.

Lynne Featherstone: In November 2012 the Secretary of State for International Development decided not to release general budget support payments on the basis of a breach of the Partnership Principles. In March 2013 the Secretary of State agreed to the re-programming of general budget support funds through projects that more directly targeted and protected the poorest in Rwanda, including through non-governmental organisations.

Somalia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the potential effect of proposals to limit the ability of Somalis living in the UK to send money to families in Somalia on the Somalian economy.

Justine Greening: The UK Government recognises the importance of remittances to the Somalian economy. We have been working closely with stakeholders to assess the situation and to establish the action group on cross border remittances, which will develop a ‘safer corridor’ to ensure the continued flow of UK-Somali remittances through secure, legitimate and accessible channels.

Somalia

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has received on proposals by banks to close accounts for remittance services from the UK to Somalia.

Justine Greening: DFID Ministers and officials have held consultations with UK-Somali community representatives, UK-Somali money service businesses, banks and non-governmental organisations on the issue of remittance services from the UK to Somalia.

HEALTH

Abortion

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many abortions on each ground other than ground E were performed at 24 weeks' gestation and over in each year since 1991.

Jane Ellison: The following table shows the number of abortions performed at 24 weeks' gestation and over since 1991.
	
		
			  Ground A and/or B Ground F and/or G 
			 1991 1 0 
			 1992 4 0 
			 1993 0 1 
			 1994 1 0 
			 1995 0 0 
			 1996 3 0 
			 1997 1 0 
			 1998 1 0 
			 1999 2 0 
			 2000 5 0 
			 2001 1 0 
			 2002 3 0 
			 2003 4 0 
			 2004 1 0 
			 2005 1 0 
			 2006 2 0 
			 2007 1 0 
			 2008 2 0 
			 2009 1 0 
			 2010 2 0 
			 2011 1 1 
			 2012 0 0 
		
	
	Figures for 1991 are for April to December only and include non residents. All other years are for full calendar years and refer to residents of England and Wales only.
	Since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed, the law has required that two doctors certify in good faith that there are lawful grounds for any abortion. Doctors must comply with that approach, and those that do not should be investigated.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of patients waited longer than four hours to be seen in accident and emergency in the Mid-Essex Hospital Trust area in each of the first four weeks in January.

Jane Ellison: The following table shows the proportion of patients who spent longer than four hours at the Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust accident and emergency (A&E) department before transfer, admission or discharge during each week in January.
	
		
			 A&E performance at Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, January 2014 
			 Week ending: Number of A&E attendances Number of patients spending >4 hours in A&E from arrival to discharge, transfer or admission Proportion of patients spending >4 hours in A&E from arrival to discharge, transfer or admission (percentage) 
			 5 January 2014 1,497 51 3.4 
			 12 January 2014 1,435 36 2.5 
			 19 January 2014 1,476 88 6.0 
			 Notes: 1. Data are currently available for only the first three weeks of January 2014. 2. The A&E performance standard is for 95% of patients to spend less than four hours from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge. 3. Statistics on A&E departments are published weekly on the NHS England website at: www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ Source: NHS England

Antenatal Care

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of pregnant women unable to access antenatal classes (a) in the UK and (b) by region since May 2010.

Daniel Poulter: The information on the number of pregnant women unable to access antenatal classes is not collected centrally.

Antidepressants

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received about the use of Sertraline and side effects such as behaviour changes;
	(2)  what plans he has to monitor cases of attempted suicide, suicide and possible suicide in which Sertraline was a possible factor;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the number of cases of (a) suicide, (b) possible suicide and (c) attempted suicide that have occurred in each year since Sertraline was introduced in the UK in which Sertraline was a possible factor.

Norman Lamb: Sertraline (brand name Lustral) is one of a class of medicines called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) which are used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has received a range of representations about the side effects of sertraline including letters from patents and health care professionals. These include a range of known adverse effects including behavioural changes.
	The MHRA has received a total of 3,560 United Kingdom spontaneous suspected adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports associated with sertraline since it was marketed in 1990. Of these reports 37 concerned completed suicide, 16 reported a suicide attempt and 50 reports described suicidal ideation associated with sertraline. This should be seen in the context of hundreds of thousands of patients treated with sertraline in the UK since it was licensed.
	All ADR reports received by the MHRA, including reports of suicide related events suspected to be associated with a medicine, are assessed as part of the continual monitoring of the safety of all medicines in the UK. This process is known as pharmacovigilance and enables identification of previously unrecognised safety hazards. ADR reports are evaluated alongside all other available data sources including formal safety studies, the published medical literature, information from pharmaceutical companies and other regulatory authorities throughout the world together with information on the level of drug prescribing. When a potential safety issue is identified the MHRA assesses the risks and benefits of the medicine to determine what action, if any, is necessary.

Antidepressants

James Wharton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice his Department gives to doctors prescribing sertraline.

Norman Lamb: Advice on the prescribing of sertraline is available in the British National Formulary, which is made available free of charge to national health service prescribers, and in clinical guidelines and a quality standard published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
	The Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) for sertraline is available to all prescribers and contains essential information on how to prescribe sertraline and on the benefits and risks of treatment. The information in the SPC is reflected in the Patient Information Leaflet (PIL) that is provided with each pack of medicine. The SPC and PIL are approved as part of the marketing authorisation of the medicine and updated as new information emerges. SPCs and PILs are available on the website of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and include warnings about behavioural changes including suicidal thoughts and behaviour.

Autism: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on the recently launched Northern Ireland autism strategy; and if he will undertake to make an annual report to Parliament on progress with that strategy.

Norman Lamb: The lead responsibility for the Northern Ireland Executive's Autism Strategy 2013-2020 rests with Edwin Poots, Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Minister will deliver a report on the implementation of that autism strategy to the Assembly, at three yearly intervals, as required by the Autism Act (Northern Ireland) 2011.
	We have not discussed the Northern Ireland Executive's Autism Strategy 2013 with the Northern Ireland Executive Ministers. However, departmental officials were represented at the Celtic Nations Autism Partnership conference in Belfast in May last year, which focused on the approach taken by each of the four United Kingdom countries with regards to the development and implementation of their autism strategies. Officials have remained in contact to share information and best practice approaches.

Brain: Injuries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions his Department has had with the Rugby Football Union regarding the problem of concussion in that sport.

Jane Ellison: Ministers have had no discussions with the Rugby Football Union regarding the problem of concussion in the sport.

Diabetes

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on the use of pump therapy to treat Type 1 diabetes, what assessment he has made of variations between NHS trusts in the application of those guidelines, particularly in relation to the prescribing of insulin pumps to children over the age of 12; and if he will request NICE to review those guidelines to emphasise that the decision to prescribe insulin pumps should be based primarily on appropriate clinical need and not purely on age.

Jane Ellison: No assessment has been made of the variations between national health service trusts in the application of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines on the use of insulin pump therapy to treat people with Type 1 diabetes.
	In 2013, the United Kingdom Insulin Pump Audit, published by Diabetes UK, collected data on the use of insulin pumps in the UK between January and April 2013. The audit found that 19% of patients under 18 years of age and 6% of adult patients with Type 1 diabetes were treated with insulin pumps. The majority of centres involved in the audit reported no issues with funding of insulin pumps for patients who met the criteria set out by NICE.
	The Department has no plans to ask NICE to review its guidance on insulin pump therapy. As an independent body, NICE is responsible for determining through consultation with stakeholders how and when its guidance should be reviewed.

Drugs: Children

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on drug-drug interactions resulting from the concurrent prescriptions of multiple psychotropic drugs in children.

Norman Lamb: Reports of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are collected by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Commission on Human Medicines through the reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme. Reporting to the Yellow Card Scheme is voluntary for health care professionals and members of the public, and there is a legal obligation for pharmaceutical companies to report all serious ADRs for their products.
	As of 23 January 2013, the MHRA had received 13 United Kingdom ADRs of suspected drug interactions involving more than one psychotropic medicine in children aged less than 18 years. It is important to note that an ADR report is not proof of a causal association between an adverse effect and one or more medicine(s). Many other factors need to be taken into consideration including the patient's underlying illness and any other concomitant medicines taken.

Electronic Cigarettes

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on proposals for EU-level regulation of e-cigarettes as medicinal items.

Jane Ellison: Electronic cigarettes have been the subject of much debate over the last year since the European Commission published its proposal for a revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). Trilogue negotiations on the TPD between European Union member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission have now concluded and a compromise has been agreed between the Health Council and European Parliament on the directive in its entirety. The political agreement reached remains subject to technical finalisation and formal approval in the next few months.
	We recognise that electronic cigarettes have the potential to be of benefit to some smokers who are trying to quit. Any nicotine-containing product, including electronic cigarettes, which is presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings, such as nicotine addiction, is considered to be a medicinal product.
	The compromise text regulates those electronic cigarettes that do not fall under the definition of medicinal products as consumer products and specifies additional regulatory requirements that provide further safeguards in relation to children and young people.

Electronic Cigarettes

Steve Brine: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) meetings he has had with and (b) representations he has received from the (i) Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association and (ii) Electronic Cigarette Consumer Association.

Jane Ellison: The previous Under-Secretary of State for Public Health, my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry), met with the Electronic Cigarette Industry Trade Association (ECITA) on one occasion. Officials from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have met with them on three other occasions.
	A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified four items of correspondence from ECITA and none from the Electronic Cigarette Consumer Association (ECCA) received since 1 January 2013. The MHRA has been in email correspondence with ECITA and ECCA.

Exercise: Older People

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to encourage local authorities to enable elderly people to take advantage of physical activity at council leisure centres.

Jane Ellison: The importance of physical activity for older adults is well established. Council leisure centres offer one way for older adults to participate in physical activity; however, there are typically a range of other local opportunities for older adults to stay active, such as regular walking and community sports clubs. Councils will need to plan services in accordance with the health priorities of their local population and need to ensure equality of access.
	Public Health England (PHE) is actively working with a range of national strategic partners to promote physical activity across the life course and implement evidence based practice. The work being led by PHE to develop a national framework for physical activity for England is launching on the 24 January 2014. The framework will provide an implementation focused approach which spans the life course and the context of places and spaces in which people take physical activity to support local areas.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department’s paper, Sustaining services, ensuring fairness, whether his intention is for chargeable migrants to pay the full costs of primary healthcare treatments beyond the initial GP or nurse consultation.

Jane Ellison: Primary care outside general practitioner consultations (or equivalent) will be chargeable.
	Guidance on services included in this charging extension will be designed in conjunction with national health service colleagues.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and Human Tissue Authority Review

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to implement the recommendations of the McCracken review.

Jane Ellison: Following the Government's acceptance of the recommendations in the McCracken Report—most of which were for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the Human Tissue Authority (HTA)—good progress is being made on implementation.
	Of those recommendations for Government, we are currently developing work to review human tissue legislation, and plan to publish a consultation policy document by April 2014. In line with the Government's commitment to reducing regulatory burden, we intend that the consultation will not only closely examine the areas cited in the McCracken recommendation but will also look more broadly at how regulatory burdens might be eased.
	Both the HFEA and the HTA have work in progress to implement the recommendations for them, details of which can be found for the HFEA at:
	www.hfea.gov.uk/Authority-September-2013.html
	and for the HTA at:
	www.hta.gov.uk/_db/_documents/Papers_for_the_September_2013_HTA_Authority_meeting.pdf
	and at:
	www.hta.gov.uk/newsandevents/e-newsletter/e-newsletterissue43-january2014.cfm#story4

Medical Records: Databases

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether penalties will be imposed on GP practices for high patient opt-out rates from medical records sharing;
	(2)  who will investigate GP practices over high levels of patient opt-out rates.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England and the Health and Social Care Information Centre will work with the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Information Commissioner's Office and with the Care Quality Commission to review and work with GP practices that have a high proportion of objections on a case-by-case basis.

Medical Records: Databases

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will place copies of guidance sent to GP practices in relation to the provision of care data to third parties in the Library.

Daniel Poulter: The care.data guidance documents for general practitioner practices have been placed in the Library.
	Question 39 of the frequently asked questions guidance relates to the provision of care data to third parties.

Mental Illness: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of levels of mental ill health in children and young people with a parent in prison; and what steps he is taking to address this problem.

Norman Lamb: No assessment of levels of mental ill health in children and young people with a parent in prison has been made.
	Information on support services for the families of prisoners in England is available from the Government’s central information portal, gov.uk at:
	www.gov.uk/support-for-families-friends-of-prisoners
	Additional information for families and practitioners is available on the Social Care Institute for Excellence website at:
	www.scie.org.uk/publications/guides/guide22/contacts.asp

Musculoskeletal Disorders: South East

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to extend the South East Coast neuromuscular care coordinator post beyond 31 March 2014 on a permanent basis; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: NHS England is responsible for commissioning specialised services including neuromuscular services.
	We understand that in July 2013 NHS England published the service specification Neurosciences: Specialised Neurology (Adult). This describes the service to be commissioned by NHS England for patients with a neuromuscular disorder. Care is provided via a managed clinical pathway that supports multidisciplinary and cross organisational working. The multi-disciplinary team includes a neuromuscular care coordinator.
	The service specification has been implemented from 1 October 2013.
	We are advised by NHS England that its Surrey and Sussex Area Team extended funding for the South East Coast neuromuscular care coordinator position to 31 March 2014. Beyond March 2014 funding for a neuromuscular care coordinator post will be provided by the specialist neuroscience centres in London. South East Coast patients are currently under the care of national health service trusts in London for this treatment.

NHS England

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what experience of the national health service is required of chief executives of NHS England local area teams.

Jane Ellison: The appointment of local area team directors is a matter for NHS England. They have advised that significant experience of the national health service, across a range of areas, is expected of the individuals filling these positions. The person specification for a director role typically includes: a wide range of and breadth of experience of operating at board level in the NHS; extensive knowledge of NHS performance management and accountability frameworks; and highly specialist professional expertise in general leadership and management across the NHS.

NHS Shared Business Services

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health who the board members of NHS Shared Business Services are.

Daniel Poulter: The following table lists the board members of NHS Shared Business Services:
	
		
			 Name Status 
			 David Edmonds Independent 
			 Peter Coates Department of Health Shareholder Representative 
			 John Torrie Steria Appointee 
			 Davinder Ahluwalia Steria Appointee 
			 Justin Jewitt Independent 
			 Bill Shields NHS Appointee

Obesity

Mark Menzies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to assist GPs to tackle obesity.

Jane Ellison: General practitioners (GPs) have a key role in “making every contact count” by identifying overweight children and adults, and supporting them with an appropriate intervention or referral and on-going management.
	The Quality and Outcomes Framework incentivises GP practices to identify and keep a record each year of patients aged 16 and over with a body mass index greater than or equal to 30. This encourages GPs to identify patients who need lifestyle advice and provides information to public health professionals and commissioners on levels of need.
	Public Health England is working with the Royal College of General Practitioners to develop an e-learning package for GPs and other primary care professionals to assist in tackling obesity. The e-learning package is planned to be launched in May 2014.

Pregnancy: Sodium Valproate

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have met representatives of Sanofi to discuss sodium valproate in pregnancy.

Norman Lamb: There have been no meetings involving Ministers or officials with Sanofi on the current review of valproate in pregnancy.
	As part of the European Union review, the European Medicines Agency's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee. (PRAC) has asked marketing authorisation holders for valproate (including Sanofi) to respond to a list of questions on this issue.
	PRAC may also ask marketing authorisation holders to attend the Committee for an oral explanation and address any outstanding issues before it reaches an opinion.

Rehabilitation Centres: Bournemouth

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many drug rehabilitation centres there are in Bournemouth.

Jane Ellison: According to the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, there are four main residential rehabilitation centres in Bournemouth.

Ritalin

Paul Uppal: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations his Department has received on the prescription of methylphenidate hydrochloride for children.

Norman Lamb: Six items of correspondence have been received in this parliamentary session about the prescription of methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) in children.
	There has been one parliamentary question on the prescription of methylphenidate hydrochloride in children.

Smoking: Motor Vehicles

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what grounds his Department withdrew in 2010 the referral issued to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to carry out research into the health impacts of smoking in private vehicles with children; and at what level the decision to withdraw the referral was taken.

Jane Ellison: The Department carried out a review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) public health work programme in 2010 to ensure that the topics referred to it by the previous Administration were appropriate and aligned with the Government’s priorities.
	The review included consideration of a topic on
	“public health guidance for commissioners and providers on the development and implementation of policies on smoke free homes and smoke free private cars and other vehicles”.
	The conclusion of the review was that smoke free homes and vehicles was a complex area with implications for legislation and that it would not be a suitable topic for NICE public health guidance. The decision was taken by Ministers in consultation with NICE, and NICE agreed.

Tobacco

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions (a) he and (b) his officials have had with counterparts at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on any requirement to compensate tobacco companies for deprivation of their intellectual property.

Jane Ellison: Department of Health and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills officials have had discussions when necessary on a wide range of issues concerning tobacco control, including standardised tobacco packaging. This has included discussions with Intellectual Property Office officials on intellectual property considerations.
	Any decision on standardised packaging will include consideration of the wider issues raised by standardised tobacco packaging, including the potential impact on intellectual property.

Tobacco: Scotland

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of the legislation in Scotland outlawing proxy purchasing of tobacco products.

Jane Ellison: We are aware that the Scottish Government introduced a new offence of the proxy purchase of tobacco in April 2011 as part of a wider package of tobacco control measures contained within the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010. A study of the effectiveness of this package of measures, including the proxy purchase offence, is currently being conducted by the university of Stirling. This long-term study is due for completion in 2017.
	Ministers in England want to ensure that children are protected from the dangers of smoking—we know 41% of children (11-15) say they get cigarettes from other people. That is why this Government is bringing forward an amendment to the Children and Families Bill to create a new offence of the proxy purchase of tobacco products.

Vaccination: Immigrants

David Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 728W, on vaccination: immigrants, which body is responsible for commissioning to meet the needs for specific vaccination programmes among migrants who are not registered with a GP when such needs have been identified by a local clinical commissioning group.

Jane Ellison: The responsibility for commissioning to meet the needs for specific vaccination among migrants who are not registered with a general practitioner and who are not covered by the national immunisation programmes commissioned by NHS England rests with local commissioners in the health and care system, including clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and local authorities (LAs). The needs should be identified as part of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment process.
	It is the responsibility of CCGs and LAs, which come together in health and wellbeing boards, to agree how to address these needs at a local level through appropriate commissioning.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on increasing the number of apprentices in (a) departments and (b) agencies and public bodies.

Matthew Hancock: It is crucial that the civil service and public sector leads the way in offering apprenticeship opportunities. In addition to the wide range of Government Departments offering apprenticeships at immediate and advanced level, the Cabinet Office launched in 2013 a new Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme. The scheme aims to provide 500 places to 18 to 21-year-olds. The first 100 apprentices started their apprenticeships in September 2013.

Apprentices: Essex

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of apprenticeships created in (a) Chelmsford constituency and (b) Mid-Essex since 2008.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release:
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/6D9AE2BF-CDB4-44C9-AB55-0EACF719BBBE/0/Nov2013_Apprenticeship_Starts.xls
	http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Statistics/fe_data_library/Apprenticeships/

British Business Bank

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Building the Business Bank: Strategy Update, published by his Department in March 2013, whether the roll out of the British Business Bank’s extended loan guarantee programme has been completed.

Matthew Hancock: An enterprise finance guarantee (EFG) pilot focused on increasing the provision of business to business trade credit started in April 2013. Five organisations are participating, primarily in the construction sector. They have provided credit facilities of £16.1 million to over 2,500 small businesses. The pilot will be evaluated in the second half of 2014.

British Business Bank

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects the British Business Bank to commence lending activity to businesses.

Matthew Hancock: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 January 2014, Official Report, column 373W.

British Business Bank

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will provide details of the tendering process which led to the award of British Business Bank funding to Praesidian Capital and BMS Finance; how many other fund managers he expects the British Business Bank to partner with; and how much of the Bank's capital will ultimately be invested in fund management companies.

Matthew Hancock: The awards to Praesidian Capital and BMS Finance are made under the British Business Bank Investment Programme launched in April 2013. Application processes for both Managed Investments and Direct Capital Investments are described in detail in the Request for Proposals for Managed Investments and in the Guidance Document for Direct Capital Investments respectively. Both of these documents are available on gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/investment-programme-to-encourage-lending-to-smes
	Each request for funding is evaluated against the eligibility criteria as outlined in the guidance documents, with recommendations on investments being cleared by an Investment Advisory Committee comprising independent members.

British Business Bank

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the Building the Business Bank: Strategy Update, published by his Department in March 2013, if he will publish details of the initial transactions of the British Business Bank's £300 million investment programme.

Matthew Hancock: The first two investments from the Business Banks Investment Programme were announced in November 2013, with £45 million committed, subject to agreement on legal terms and final completion, to two debt funds to unlock up to £125 million of additional business lending.
	£30 million was committed to Praesidian Capital Europe and £15 million to BMS Finance.

Environment Protection: Taxation

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which sectors have been submitted to the EU Commission for state aid approval against the cost of the carbon price floor.

Michael Fallon: Currently the Government has pre-notified the European Commission using the same list of eligible sectors as set out in the Commission’s guidelines to member states for the indirect cost of the EU emissions trading system. We have also considered representations made by a range of additional sectors and companies made as part of the consultation on the carbon price floor compensation and will be shortly informing respondents. We will make public the list of additional sectors thereafter.

Foundation Industries

Nicholas Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions he has had on the Government's role in supporting the foundation industries; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Fallon: The foundation industries underpin manufacturing, particularly sectors such as aerospace, construction and automotive. They are central to the rebalancing of the economy and key in delivering the Government's industrial strategy.
	The Government has a number of policies in place to help the foundation industries, including the Regional Growth Fund and the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative. We publish regular updates to the National Infrastructure Plan which includes more than 500 projects, most requiring high quality inputs from the foundation industries.
	Ministers have regular discussions with representatives of the foundation industry sectors, including steel and chemicals. The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, the right hon. Member for Twickenham (Vince Cable), was pleased to accept an invitation from Tata Steel to speak at the launch of their foundation industries report on 16 January.

Further Education

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many reviews have been (a) requested and (b) conducted by the FE Commissioner since that post's creation.

Matthew Hancock: To date I have requested that the FE Commissioner and his team of FE advisers review the position of six general further education colleges in England.

Further Education

Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the name of each administered college is.

Matthew Hancock: To date I have placed two general further education colleges into administered college status: Stockport College and South and West Kent (K) College.

Further Education: Finance

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent discussions his Department has had with the Skills Funding Agency on the provision of specialist courses that attract fewer than 100 entrants in an academic year.

Matthew Hancock: Last summer the Skills Funding Agency undertook a review of publicly funded qualifications to ensure that they are high quality and have high demand. The review looked at qualifications with no or low demand from employers and learners. Low demand was identified as where a qualification had fewer than 100 publicly funded enrolments in each of the last two years. 2,488 qualifications were identified-of which 70% had no publicly funded enrolments and 200 of the 2,488 were identified as specialist and kept in funding.
	The awarding bodies responsible for the qualifications were invited make a case for retaining any of these qualifications, and a consultation period ran from February to June 2013. All cases were reviewed and the impact of removing qualifications on employers, learners and sectors fully considered. 1,884 qualifications were subsequently removed from public funding.

Literacy: Brigg

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department spent on the provision of adult literacy services in Brigg and Goole constituency in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12 and (c) 2012-13.

Matthew Hancock: The amount spent on the provision of adult literacy services (English basic skills training from the Adult Skills Budget) for the past three academic years in Brigg and Goole is set out in the following table:
	
		
			 Academic year £ million 
			 2010-11 0.29 
			 2011-12 0.26 
			 2012-13 0.23 
			 Notes: 1. Figures do not include English for Speakers of Other Languages and include English training as part of an Apprenticeship. 2.These data do not include English training undertaken as part of the Employer Ownership Pilot. 3. The spend is estimated based on data from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR).

Local Government: Urban Areas

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which bodies were (a) consulted over and (b) received a copy of the Wave 2 Business Growth Programme: Policy Overview Document.

Matthew Hancock: The Wave 2 Business Growth Programme: Policy Overview Document was produced in partnership by the Cabinet Office, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Lancaster University. Views on the document were also sought from Lord Heseltine and from the British Chambers of Commerce. The document was subsequently shared with lead contacts from 20 Wave 2 cities eligible to bid for the programme, who in turn circulated it to relevant local partners.

Mining: Education

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps the Government is taking to promote courses at an (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate level directly relating to the extractive industry.

David Willetts: We recognise the higher cost of engineering courses, including mining engineering, through the provision of additional teaching grant. Universities have complete autonomy over the precise spread of undergraduate and postgraduate provision they offer, including those which can support the extractive industries. The Government’s reforms have improved the information for students on the labour market outcomes of different subjects and we encourage universities to work with employers to offer courses that meet their needs and that respond to student demand.

New Businesses

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many approvals were granted by the Registrar of Companies in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) the UK in each of the last six financial years.

Michael Fallon: Companies House estimates that the Registrar of Companies incorporated (‘approved’) the following number of corporate bodies in each of the last six financial years in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) the UK:
	
		
			 Brigg and Goole 
			 Financial year Number of incorporations 
			 2007-08 342 
			 2008-09 472 
			 2009-10 368 
			 2010-11 435 
			 2011-12 346 
			 2012-13 475 
		
	
	
		
			 UK 
			 Financial year Number of incorporations (thousand) 
			 2007-08 372.4 
			 2008-09 330.1 
			 2009-10 365.6 
			 2010-11 400.6 
			 2011-12 455.6 
			 2012-13 482.8 
		
	
	The figures for Brigg and Goole are estimates because Companies House's data are drawn from postcode areas, which can cross constituency boundaries.
	With regard to the figures for the UK those prior to 1 October 2009 only include the details for Great Britain, (England and Wales, and Scotland) after that date they include Northern Ireland and are, therefore, for the UK as a whole. This is because before the implementation of the Companies Act 2006 on 1 October 2009 Northern Ireland was subject to a separate company law regime and did not come under Companies House's jurisdiction. After the Companies Act 2006 was implemented, a single company law regime was applied to the whole UK and the Companies Registry for Northern Ireland became part of Companies House—it is only from then that it can provide figures for the UK.
	Finally, as the member for Brigg and Goole asked for the total number of incorporations (approvals) carried out by the Registrar the figures include all corporate bodies that are registered: limited companies, unlimited companies, limited liability partnerships, and European companies.

Overseas Students: British Overseas Territories

Thomas Docherty: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students at (i) higher education and (ii) further education institutions in the UK from each of the UK's overseas territories in each of the last five years..

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on student enrolments at UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The number of enrolments at UK HEIs domiciled in British Overseas Territories prior to starting their course for the academic years 2008-09 to 2012-13 will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
	Information on enrolments at UK HEIs for the academic year 2013-14 will become available from HESA in January 2015.
	Statistics on participation in higher education at further education colleges (FECs) are available from the respective UK administrations. It is estimated that (to the nearest five) there were five students registered at English FE colleges from British Overseas Territories in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Public Houses

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to reduce the number of public houses which are closing down.

Jennifer Willott: The Government values the pub industry, recognises the important contribution that pubs make to the fabric of local communities, and to jobs and growth in the wider economy.
	The Government has introduced a number of measures to help pubs. In Budget 2013 the Government announced the end of the beer duty escalator and cut beer duty, so that the tax on a typical pint of beer is 1p lower. In future, beer duties will rise by inflation only. At autumn statement 2013, we announced a major business rates package which will benefit small businesses, including pubs. They will also benefit from the abolition of employer national insurance contributions for under-21s earning below £813 per week from April 2015.
	The National Planning Policy Framework makes clear that local planning policies and decisions should guard against the unnecessary loss of facilities such as pubs. We are also helping pubs to become more sustainable through our funding for Pub is the Hub, which is helping pubs to diversify their services. Our funding for the Plunkett Foundation is supporting communities to take over their local pub as a co-operative, and the Community Right to Bid offers communities a chance to save their local pub from being sold and lost to the community by taking ownership of it.
	The Government has also consulted on proposals for a statutory code of practice and an adjudicator to enforce the code, to help tied pub landlords by addressing the imbalance in the relationship between pub companies and their tenants.

Salmon: Competition

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the level of competition in the salmon farming industry.

Jennifer Willott: This Department has not made an assessment of the level of competition in the salmon farming industry.
	Responsibility for addressing competition issues in markets falls to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) as the UK’s independent competition authority. It has been given significant powers to investigate and act if it finds that a market is not functioning effectively. From 1 April 2014, the OFT’s competition powers will transfer to the new Competition and Markets Authority.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Arson

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many people were charged with arson in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were charged with arson with intent.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted or convicted. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.

Arson

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service has offered (a) no evidence in relation to a charge of arson with intent and (b) left a charge of arson with intent to lie on the file in each of the last seven years.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts.
	To obtain details of the number of offences where no evidence was offered or the charge was left on file, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General on how many occasions has the Crown Prosecution Service charged individuals with (a) grievous bodily harm with intent, (b) malicious wounding with intent and (c) arson with intent in each of the last seven years.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants charged or prosecuted. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.
	Offences of both malicious wounding and grievous bodily harm with intent are charged under section 18 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861. Offences of arson with intent are charged under s.1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971. In each of the last seven years, the number of these offences prosecuted by the CPS was as follows:
	
		
			  Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (18): Wounding/grievous bodily harm with intent Criminal Damage Act 1971 (1(2), 1(3) and 4): Arson with intent/ reckless as to whether life was endangered 
			 2006-07 7,449 1,112 
			 2007-08 7,825 1,190 
			 2008-09 7,759 1,131 
			 2009-10 7,930 1,136 
			 2010-11 8,424 1,145 
			 2011-12 7,748 1,143 
			 2012-13 6,742 1,037 
		
	
	No central records of the prosecution outcomes for individual offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of individuals charged with these offences, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Crimes of Violence

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  how many people were charged of malicious wounding offences in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were convicted of malicious wounding with intent;
	(2)  how many people were charged with grievous bodily harm offences in each of the last seven years; and of those how many were charged with grievous bodily harm with intent;
	(3)  how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service has (a) offered no evidence in relation to a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent and (b) left a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent to lie on the file in each of the last seven years;
	(4)  on how many occasions the Crown Prosecution Service has (a) offered no evidence in relation to a charge of malicious wounding with intent and (b) left a charge of malicious wounding with intent to lie on the file in each of the last seven years.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted or convicted. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.
	No central records of the prosecution outcomes of offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of people prosecuted or convicted of these offences, of the number of offences where no evidence was offered or where the charge was left to lie on file, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the average number of hours of overtime worked by each member of Crown Prosecution Service staff at (a) associate prosecutor level and (b) crown prosecutor level and above in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The average number of hours of overtime worked by each member of Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff at (a) associate prosecutor level and (b) crown prosecutor level and above in each of the last five years, is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Average hours of overtime worked per person per year 
			  Associate prosecutor Crown prosecutor and above 
			 2009 1 20 
			 2010 1 21 
			 2011 1 20 
			 2012 4 19 
			 2013 4 20 
		
	
	The information is based on data extracted from the CPS's central pay database. It summarises hours claimed between January and December in each year. Every effort has been made to ensure that it is complete and accurate but it is feasible that minor inaccuracies in data input affect the totals reported.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many advocates were on the Crown Prosecution Service specialist rape panel in each of the last five years.

Dominic Grieve: In 2012 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) implemented the Advocate Panel, a panel of quality approved external advocates to be instructed to undertake Crown court advocacy. As part of that arrangement a specialist rape panel was also established.
	The number of advocates recorded as being on the specialist rape panel is:
	
		
			  Number 
			 At September 2012 1,102 
			 At September 2013 1,182 
			 At January 2014 1,217 
		
	
	In June 2013 the remit of the specialist rape panel was extended to include offences of child sexual abuse and it became known as the specialist rape and child sexual abuse panel.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many Crown Prosecution Service violence against women and girls scrutiny panels have met in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: Local scrutiny and involvement panels (LSIPs) are made up of community representatives and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff. LSIPs scrutinise finalised hate crime and violence against women and girls (VAWG) cases and provide feedback on the quality of casework handling in practice. All 13 CPS areas have at least one LSIP which meets a minimum of four times per year.
	All area LSIPs have addressed VAWG since their inception in 2011: some address VAWG overall, some domestic violence and/or rape and others ethnicity issues within VAWG cases. Of the 13 CPS areas, seven have dedicated VAWG scrutiny panels. The remaining six review at least one VAWG case at each LSIP panel meeting. The data regarding specific VAWG scrutiny panels held each year for the last five years is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			 Financial year Dedicated VAWG scrutiny panel meetings 
			 2009-10 33 
			 2010-11 35 
			 2011-12 40 
			 2012-13 38 
			 2013-14 125 
			 1 This is the figure for April 2013 to January 2014. More VAWG panels are scheduled to be held before the end of this financial year.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the total is of travel expenses for staff of the Crown Prosecution Service whose offices have been relocated since the start of the office closure programme.

Oliver Heald: The total of travel expenses for the staff of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) whose offices have been relocated since the start of the office closure programme cannot be separately identified from the CPS's management information systems. To identify the total expenses would require every claim for travel expenses since 2009 to be scrutinised and this would incur disproportionate costs.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how much the Crown Prosecution Service spent on paper in each of the last five years.

Oliver Heald: According to records held by the Department’s major stationery suppliers, the Department has spent the following amounts on paper in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Spend (£) 
			 2009 1,348,735 
			 2010 1,426,941 
			 2011 1,343,748 
			 2012 1,120,904 
			 2013 926,609 
			 Grand total 6,166,937 
		
	
	In the last five years, the Department has held contracts with Office Depot and Banner for the supply of paper. The amounts in the above table relate to spend on paper with these suppliers only. The CPS is a devolved organisation and it is possible that additional paper outside of these contracts has been purchased. To obtain details of such purchases would involve the manual checking of individual invoices and would incur a disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure in 2010 increased due to the merger of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office with the CPS.

Crown Prosecution Service

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what the outcome was of the Crown Prosecution Service's review of the collapse of the Crown's case in R v Renate Andrews and others in November 2013; whether he has discussed the case with the Director of Public Prosecutions; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Grieve: I have not discussed the case with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) but have been provided with a briefing from the Crown Prosecution Service. A preliminary review has highlighted the need for further investigation as there appear to be failings in relation to decision-making and case progression. Once this has been completed, the DPP will conduct a detailed review to ensure lessons can be learnt from this case.
	1 have asked the DPP to inform me of the outcome of her review, and 1 will write to the hon. Member when it has been completed.

Female Genital Mutilation

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General what recent discussions has he had with the (a) Secretary of State for Health and (b) Director of Public Prosecutions about the effect on ease of prosecution of making it mandatory for NHS staff to report to police suspected cases of female genital mutilation.

Oliver Heald: Neither the Attorney-General nor I have had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about making it mandatory for national health service staff to report suspected cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) to the police.
	The DPP's FGM action plan published in October 2013 made recommendations to the Inter Ministerial Group on Violence Against Women and Girls (IMG VAWG) about reviewing guidance to health professionals and others in order to support referrals to the police. I am a member of the IMG VAWG.

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2014, Official Report, columns 564-65W, on fraud, how many of the investigations launched in 2013 and each of the five preceding years were for alleged frauds or other economic crimes of a value of (a) £1,000,000 to £5,000,000, (b) £5,000,001 to £10,000,000, (c) £10,000,001 to £15,000,000, (d) £15,000,001 to £20,000,000, (e) £20,000,001 to £30,000,000, (f) £30,000,001 to £40,000,000, (g) £40,000,001 to £50,000,000 and (h) more than £50,000,001.

Oliver Heald: The values of alleged frauds and economic crimes are assessed and reviewed as the investigations into them progress. These values are therefore liable to change during the investigation. In some cases, the value cannot be fully known, or it is not appropriate to investigate all elements of the allegations made. There is no stage common to all investigations where an estimate of the value of the alleged crimes is made.
	For these reasons, information is not held in a way which allows for a meaningful answer to this question.

Fraud

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General 
	(1)  pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2014, Official Report, columns 564-5W, on fraud, how many prosecutions of corporate defendants who contested the charge were (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful in 2013;
	(2)  how many of the Serious Fraud Office-led prosecutions where the defendant contested the charge were (a) unsuccessful and (b) successful in each year since 2008.

Oliver Heald: The three prosecutions of corporate defendants in 2013 are still in progress.
	Information about prosecutions of individual defendants is shown in the following table. Please note that the figures shown here are for case outcomes in each year, the previous answer gave figures for prosecutions started in each year: many cases will span more than one year, so the two sets of figures are not directly comparable.
	
		
			  2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 (a) Unsuccessful 20 13 5 13 7 3 
			 (b) Successful 12 5 5 220 9 10 
			 1 This total includes a judge-directed acquittal after jury failed to reach a verdict. 2 This total includes a defendant found guilty who also received a judge-ordered acquittal on other charges.

Lasers

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Attorney-General how many people have been prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service under the Air Navigation Order 2009 involving the use of a laser pen in the last five years.

Oliver Heald: The records held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) identify the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced and reached a first hearing in magistrates courts, rather than the number of defendants prosecuted. A single defendant may be prosecuted for multiple offences.
	The Air Navigation Order 2009 came into force on 1 January 2010. Article 221 of the order created the offences of exhibiting a light that may endanger an aircraft landing or taking off and exhibiting a light that may be mistaken for a ground light. Article 222 of the order, made under sections 60 and 61 of the Civil Aviation Act 1982, created the offence of using a light in such a way that it will dazzle or distract the pilot. In each of the last three years, where data are available, the number of these offences prosecuted by the CPS was as follows:
	
		
			  2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Air Navigation Order 2009 (22J (1)(a), 241(6) and Part B) 0 3 0 
			 Civil Aviation Act 1982 (222, 241(6) and Part B of schedule 13 to the Air Navigation Order 2009 made under sections 60 and 61) 23 60 33 
		
	
	No central records of the prosecution outcomes of offences are held by the CPS. To obtain details of the number of people prosecuted for these offences, or whether the subject of the charge was a laser pen or other form of light, would require a manual exercise of reviewing individual case files to be undertaken at a disproportionate cost.

Witnesses

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General how many witness care units have been transferred from the Crown Prosecution Service to the police in the last three years.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service and the police remain jointly responsible for the operation of witness care units (WCUs), and this has been the position since the introduction of WCUs in 2005.